Breath of a Dragon
by LunaRyuu
Summary: Link leaves Hyrule for a little adventure in his otherwise dull life and stumbles across a lost Dragon clan village.
1. Chapter 1

Breath of a Dragon

Chapter 1

The land was shrouded in darkness, but it was only midday. A thick gray mist surrounded the area, making it impossible to see more than just a few feet ahead. Link, upon his faithful steed Epona, stared at his map in frustration.

"We should be near a town, according to this map, but I can't see a _thing_ in this fog!" Link muttered. Epona neighed nervously and slowed down her already sluggish pace. "It's ok, girl," Link said soothingly to his horse, noticing her hesitation. His own nerves were on edge. It was an awful feeling to be blind in all directions. He kept reaching for his sword on his back, thinking he heard something. 

It had been several days since he had left Hyrule. He felt he needed a little variety in his life after seven years of peace and the castle was getting a little stuffy.

He folded the map up carefully and slid it into his traveling satchel. His bag was full of the essentials: food, a blanket, compass, all six of his bottles filled with various healing substances, several changes of clothes, among other things.

He let Epona steer while he reached into the sack and pulled out an object wrapped in plain white cloth. Link removed the cloth, revealing a blue wind instrument with holes driven into it in a straight line. The Triforce symbol was embedded in the wooden material at the mouthpiece. The Ocarina of Time.

Link fingered the smooth surface of its body then brought it to his lips, closing his eyes. He began to play the first song that came to mind: Zelda's Lullaby. As he played the sweet melody, he began to remember the adventures he had had of saving Hyrule from Ganondorf.

The very thought of that name brought feelings of great anger to Link for the evil lord. Though the Gerudo King had given Link more than enough reasons to hate him, he did not. Link was a kind creature who could just not bring himself to hate any living being. Epona continued on at an even walk, her nerves soothed by Link's song. The fog was clearing up a bit and a vast forest up ahead could be seen. The silver-maned mare navigated through the trees while Link continued to play. She could see light through the trees before them and picked up her speed, eager to reach it. Link opened his eyes and egged Epona a little faster forward, never ceasing in song.

The duo breached the lining of the trees and found that it was the end of the forest. Link ended his song here and gazed across the scenery before him. They were at the top of a hill that overlooked a vast green field, much like Hyrule Field. It stretched for as far as his Hylian eyes could see. A large town could be seen in the distance surrounded by a high gate.

Link breathed in deeply then exhaled. He consulted his map once more, comparing it to the landscape before him. "Well...it doesn't match the map..." he began. He stared hard at the large village in the distance. "But, if it's there then I can't really argue, now can I, Epona?" Epona shook her head about and snorted.

Link shoved the map away, grinning. "Well, let's go then!" With a slap on the rear, Epona reared up and sped down the hill to their destination.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I forgot this in the last chapter. I hope no one decides to sue me! I have no money so you'll just be wasting your time. I don't own the Legend of Zelda series, it belongs to Nintendo.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You people are so nice! Well here's Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

As the duo approached the gates, Link noticed two enormous statues flanking the entrance. Upon closer examination, he discovered they seemed to be statues of dragons. The hero pulled back on Epona's reigns abruptly, wondering why he hadn't seen them from the hill. As large as they were, there really was no reason why he didn't notice them before.

He cautiously steered Epona toward them, curiously looking them over. The one on the left was a dark green with large crimson eyes. Its long tail was adorned with black spikes along the tip. It stood on its hind legs, much like a human, and had two black horns curved and slanted to almost rest on its head. The other dragon was quite similar except its scales were a dark blue and its eyes were orange. They both held large spears with vicious looking spiked blades.

Much to Link's surprise, when he was right before them, they both lowered their heads to watch him. Simultaneously, they stomped the ground, creating a shockwave that more than scared poor Epona. She reared up, eyes wide with fear, nearly throwing her rider from his seat.

The blue one opened its large mouth, revealing large, intimidating fangs. It spoke in a deep, booming voice that was hard to understand. "Who goes there?" it asked. Link's heart was racing, still getting over the initial surprise that the statues were really dragons. He swallowed hard and opened his dry mouth. "I am Link, the Hero of Time. I hail from the lands of Hyrule," Link replied, trying to sound important. Although it was hard because the creature before him was looking down at him with a condescending expression upon its visage.

The blue dragon raised its arched eyebrows and exchanged glances with its comrade to its side, then returned its gaze back to Link. "Hyrule, eh? And how did you manage to find this place, boy?" it inquired scornfully. Link narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He hated being called a child. "I was lost in the mist back beyond that forest," Link gestured behind himself, "I saw this village and came toward it. Please, I have been traveling for several days now. If you would allow me to stay for just the night I will be out of your-"

"No outsiders allowed!" the dragon guard interrupted.

Link frowned in disappointment, and started to steer Epona away. "Hold it there boy!" Link paused and turned to stare back at the dragon. "We cannot allow you to stay in our village, but we cannot allow you to just walk away either..." he trailed off, leaving Link a bit confused. The green dragon spoke this time, his voice not much different from its companion. "Since you have found this village, we cannot allow you to simply leave. You could easily disclose this location and your foul people will begin to trespass in or land. This village has been hidden for hundreds of years, and we want to keep it that way." The two of them had rather sinister looks upon their faces as they said this.

The green one turned to the blue one. "Hey, Kimon! What do you suppose we do with this whelp?" The blue dragon, now identified as Kimon grinned a toothy smile. "There are many things I would like to do, but we must take him to our leader before we do anything." 

Reluctantly, the other agreed and they both drove their spears deep enough into the ground so they would stand on their own. A bright flash emanated from their bodies and Link had to turn away and cover his eyes.

When he uncovered his face, he saw that the duo of dragons were no longer there. Instead, two middle-aged men stood on either side of his horse. The one on his left had blue hair and orange eyes, while the other had dark green hair and red eyes, both had orange crescent moons on their foreheads. "Wha..? Where did you come from?"

The blue haired man pulled him roughly from the saddle of his horse while the other grabbed a hold of Epona's reigns. The mare protested greatly, rearing up and attempting to kick the ruffian in the chest. The man was much too strong for the horse though, and he managed to force her to walk with him through the front gates, Link's captor leading. "Hey, let me go! What do you want from me!" Link cried out, struggling with the man. He ignored Link, as they proceeded through the streets of the town, Link practically dragging on the dirt ground. He found out the hard way that the man must not have been truly a man because of his inhuman strength. Link slowly began to piece together the clues and realized that the dragon guards must have transformed into human look-alikes.

Realizing this, Link decided he might as well quit struggling. The blue haired man, who he assumed must be Kimon from earlier, had Link's arms pinned behind him. Frustrated with being totally helpless, he glanced around at his surroundings.

The houses looked foreign to the young hero. The walls were made of gray stone, held together by a cream colored substance in-between the cracks. The roofs were made of a smooth black marble that glinted in the setting sun. The "doors" were sheets draped across the entranceway, there only purpose was to conceal what happened within. The road they walked upon was the dark earth similar to outside.

They were apporaching a large palace-like structure that rested against the north wall of the town. They brought Link and his horse here and forced him to kneel. "My Lord!" Kimon bellowed. Link waited with anticipation for their leader to arrive at the front doors. He expected some horribly large dragon with sharp teeth and an appetite for Hylians.

When the doors burst open, Link was surprised to see a young man, looking to be perhaps several years his senior, come out of the castle and stand before them. Link peered up at him through his bangs.

The man was quite handsome to say the least. His hair was chin-length and black, his bangs covered most of his forehead, but a silver crescent moon in the center of his forehead could be seen when the wind blew his hair to the side. His eyes were just slightly slanted and a piercing golden color that seemed to look straight into Link's soul.

He wore slightly loose, baggy black pants and a black shirt that showed off his well-developed muscles. His flowing black cape blew in the soft breeze. He had a bored look upon his face that told Link he didn't really want to be there.

"What is this?" he asked, his voice deep and smooth. To Link, he seemed like the type of guy...er dragon who would never lose his cool. "My Lord, this is a Hylian. He claims he comes from the land of Hyrule and became lost and ended up here," Kimon informed. The leader's gaze shifted to Kimon. "And why have you brought him to my presence?" Kimon shifted uncomfortably in place. "We wished to make you aware of his trespassing and we wanted to know what to do with him," he replied uneasily.

The leader's eyes returned to Link. He sneered, lifting his upper lip to reveal sharp pearly white canines, and spun around, walking back to the palace. "Kill him," he said nonchalantly, without even turning his head as he said it. Link's eyes widened in fear and as if she had understood, Epona reared up, tossing her head wildly and making quite a ruckus. "Stupid beast!" the green haired man growled, pulling hard on her reigns.

"Is it truly necessary to kill the boy, Firagaht?" an old male voice from behind all of them questioned. The leader, Firagaht, stopped in his trek back to his home and turned slowly around, as did everyone else. 

There, behind them, was an old man with long white hair that fell to the middle of his back and a long white beard that reached to his stomach. A green crescent moon adorned his forehead in the same manner that it was on the other dragons around Link. He was dressed in all white robes and held a gnarled wooden staff in his right hand, the other arm was folded behind his back. His eyes were a sky blue that seemed to twinkle with slight amusement. Firagaht narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Sharanan."

The old man nodded slightly. "What do you want old man?" Firagaht growled, no respect evident in his voice for this obviously sage-like dragon. "I'm simply asking if there is a need in killing this young boy." Sharanan restated. He walked forward until he was in line with Link and his captor.

"You question my authority?"

The old sage smiled at this. "I know you Firagaht, and I know that you can tell this boy's story is not fabricated. Is there really a need for such drastic measures?" At this Firagaht narrowed his eyes again. "He is one boy, hardly a threat at all to our village. I can sense his aura as well, he seems like a kind, even trustworthy, creature. No need for violence against him for a crime he has yet to commit."

Firagaht's gaze flickered from Sharanan to Link, but returned to the old man. "Well, if you like him so much, why don't _you_ keep him, old man." He had already started turning to return to his castle.

Sharanan looked pleasantly surprised for a brief moment but sighed with content. "Kimon! Loe'n! Release the boy and his beast and get back to your posts!" the dragon leader commanded over his shoulder. The response was immediate: Kimon released Link's arms and Loe'n, the dragon guard dealing with Epona, let go of the mare's reigns and the two of them simultaneously saluted Firagaht. "Yessir!" They rushed off to their posts, leaving Sharanan and Link alone.

"Th-thanks, sir," Link stuttered, still in a bit of shock. He stood from his kneeling position and brushed the dirt from his knees. "Ah, it was no problem, young one" Link made a face. "I don't mean to be rude sir, but do you have to call me that?" And as ifLink had told the funniest joke in the world, Sharanan, tilted his head back and bellowed with laughter. He clapped Link on the back, causing the teen to stumble forward slightly. "Ah, my boy! You are quite a funny one!" The sage wiped a laugh tear from his eye as Link stared on in confusion. "You are like a little baby in comparison to my age, child." Sharanan added as a little background info.

Link, feeling a bit curious and a little ambitious, decided to ask him just how old he was. "1258," Sharanan replied promptly. Link's expression of great stupification (is that a word?), caused Sharanan to laugh quite hard again. "Ah, I know you will be quite enjoyable to have around, boy. You are welcome to stay in my home. What is your name?"

Link smiled, already knowing he liked this old geezer too.

"Link."

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A/N: And there's chappie 2! Whew! That's almost twice as long as the other chapter! I guess that first one could be considered an intro or whatever. So tell me if you like, if you hate, though I won't like flames very much, but it's all a part of being an author I guess. Review please!

Oh and by the way, you pronounce Firagaht's name like this: Fear-a-got. And Loe'n is just Loe with the "n" sound as its own syllable, so Lo-en. Got it? Good!

-LunaRyuu


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was night time in the village. A light chilly breeze blew outside and crickets and other critters chirped pleasantly in the darkness. Link sat in Sharanan's little hut, sipping some hot tea, wrapped comfortably up in blankets. His aged companion sat nearby, tending to the fire in the middle of the room. A pot filled with hot stew suspended above the flames by a metal pole was currently simmering. It's aroma was simply delicious and practically had Link drooling.

"So..." Sharanan began, catching Link's attention. "Tell me, how did you stumble across this place, Link?" Link gulped down the rest of his tea and set the cup down on the floor beside him. "Well, that forest up on the hill that overlooks this town was filled with this really thick fog. Epona, she's my horse, and I were going through the forest to see what was on the other side, and we ended up here," Link replied. Sharanan raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he said, almost as if he didn't believe him. Link caught this tone in his voice and frowned slightly. "I'm not making this up, Sharanan..." Link trailed off when the old dragon waved his hand. "It is not because I do not believe you boy, it is because the mist, you see, has special properties to it." "What do you mean?" Link asked.

Sharanan sighed and shifted in his position, stirring the stew while it cooked. "The mist is what has kept this village hidden for so long. It allows only a certain few to enter, such as those with pure hearts and those with no malcontent. I suppose you fit the description of one who is allowed entry. Soup's done!"

Link eagerly scooted closer to the fire and held his bowl out as Sharanan poured him a generous helping. It was beef stew with pieces of carrots, peas, and onions, along with, obviously, chunks of beef. Link slurped it up ravenously. He hadn't eaten in a whole day because he had been trying to save his quickly depleting rations. When he was done with his first bowl, he asked for seconds, which Sharanan was happy to give him.

Link patted his belly after eating his full of stew, which was nearly half the large pot, while the old sage chuckled at his behavior. The young hero suddenly became thoughtful and sat up from his slouched position. "Sharanan, can I ask you a question?" He nodded without looking up from poking the fire. "You say this is a village, and I see lot's of houses. But where are all the _villagers_?" Sharanan smiled. "You will see them in the morning," he replied, esoterically. Link frowned but before he could say anything more, the sage spoke once more. "My granddaughter will be here in the morning as well. I'm sure you would like to meet her, Link," Sharanan winked at Link, causing him to redden slightly. "But, for now, it is late and I know Hylians require sleep to function properly the next day."

Link nodded, yawning as if his body only now realized its need for rest. He snuggled up close to the fire, said goodnight to his ancient companion and closed his eyes. He was asleep in moments.

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The sun was slowly rising over the horizon and spreading its golden rays as far as the eye could see. The nightly chill vanished and was replaced by the warmth of the colossal yellow star in the sky.

Link rolled over, still half-asleep, facing the ceiling of the stone hut he was a guest in. A light cool breeze blew in from the entrance and disturbed the hero. He scrunched his face up and covered his head with his sheets. The sound of birds chirping and horses neighing kept him from returning to his sweet slumber.

In a rustle of sheets, Link pulled himself up, zombie-style, into a sitting position and stared out the doorway. "What's wrong with Epona?" he asked himself. He ran his fingers through his blond hair, carelessly knocking his hat off his head. His hair reached to the end of his neck and just barely touched his shoulders.

"I'd better go see what's wrong with that crazy horse," he mumbled, standing slowly from the smooth but hard floor that was made of the same marble-like material as the roof.

Link dragged his feet to the entrance and pulled the sheet aside. He stepped out into the sunshine and shielded his eyes from the light. He walked over to where he had tethered Epona and found her rearing up and whinnying like the world was about to end. Her nostrils were flared and her eyes were wide with what Link presumed was fear.

Link yawned with his mouth open-wide. "Epona, what's the matter?" he asked, almost like he was speaking to a child. At the sound of her master's voice, Epona turned her gaze to him and neighed, almost as if to call him to her. Link obeyed and approached his horse and stroked her nose and mane and spoke to her in a soothing voice. The effects were immediate and Epona calmed her raging storms.

Link subconsciously pulled a carrot out of his pocket and watched contentedly as Epona munched on it. The sun was warm on his bare head and neck. He tilted his head back slightly to let the sunlight kiss his face. Epona finished the carrot and nudged him for more. "Want more, girl?" Link patted her nose and was turning to head back into the hut to get more treats for her, when a large shadow passed over them blocking out the sun.

Link glanced up at the sky, thinking it was only a cloud, and was quite surprised when it turned out to be the figure of a large flying creature. Its wingspan was at least 30 feet on each side.

The majestic creature flew gracefully overhead, its crimson red scales glistening in the early morning sun. It opened its large jaws and elicited a piercing cry that was both beautiful and frightening at the same time. Unfortunately, Epona failed to see the beauty in its shriek and returned to her previous cacophony. This time, it didn't take much for Link to ignore her as another dragon flew overhead and another, until a myriad of dragons flew overhead, filling the sky. Link watched, wide-mouthed.

They came in all colors and sizes. Some had stripes on their stomachs, or hands and feet, or backs, or tails. Some had spots that were of either a darker or lighter shade than the rest of the body. Some had teeth that poked out from between their lips. Some had short or long horns, some had none at all. The horns were either slanted slightly, slanted greatly or pointed straight up. The horns were also either curved slightly, curved predominately, entwined with each other or completely straight. Their colors ranged drastically from black to orange, and from pink to gray. Their eyes were rounded or slanted and glowed mysteriously. The colors ranged as much as their scale colors.

All of the dragons seemed to be congregating in the town square. They began landing, although gracefully, they sent shockwaves all throughout the town. It took all of Link's strength and balance to stay standing, but he still needed the support of the stone hut he stood beside, which seemed to be totally unfazed by the tremors. "So that's why the houses are made of stone," Link mused. He returned his attention to the congregation in the center of town. He could see that the dragons were reverting to their human forms now and were dispersing, back to their respective homes, he presumed.

Luckily for him, since he wasn't too keen on being discovered just yet, Epona had calmed and was brushing at the ground with her hooves. Link moved stealthily into the shadows, behind his mare and to the side of Sharanan's hut, which was on the east side of town. He was ultimately hidden from view, lest someone bothered to look around Epona, or they came from behind...

"Ah, everyone has returned from the annual pilgrimage I see. It was getting kind of lonely here." Link nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the familiar voice directly and so close behind him. He whirled around to face the old sage dragon, who was looking past him at the villagers who were going by the street in front of his house.

Instead of chewing the old man out for sneaking up on him, Link decided to inquire about the "pilgrimage" he had mentioned.

"Ah, the pilgrimage. As I mentioned before it is an annual event. All of the villagers of this town travel across the seas to the Sacred Land of Shura. There, they pray and meditate and become one with the spirits there." Sharanan placed his gaze upon Link, waiting for the questions he knew the young blond man would ask.

"Shura? Is that some kind of diety for the dragon clan?" Link asked, and did not disappoint the withered old man.

"Not exactly, but many revere him as such. He was the leader of our tribe hundreds of years ago. He was the one who prompted our secession from Hyrule and the rest of the world. He was the one who led us to this land and guided us in building a home here. He was a great leader, Shura was." Sharanan paused. "I knew him. I shared my knowledge and wisdom with him and helped him make many tactical decisions. We were close friends till the very end..." Sharanan sighed.

"What happened to him?" Link asked curiously and slightly concerned.

"He died from a very deadly virus called Ryuu no Yamai, which in the ancient dragon tongue means "Dragon's Disease". When one is afflicted with this disease, fatality is inevitable."

"What's it do?"

"Well, at the very beginning stages, a dragon will lose the ability to transform to human or into dragon form without incredible pain or loss of stamina. Eventually, the body is in constant pain even when transformation does not take place. The reason for this is a very deadly bacteria has entered the body and is eating away at the insides of the victim. I'm sure you can imagine the pain this would cause." Link nodded, his face a little green. "At the final stages, the body is constantly bleeding, inside and out. And if one does not die from the blood loss, they will die when the bacteria finally reaches the heart."

Link gulped before asking his question. "Does it always...eat the heart last?"

Sharanan nodded solemnly. "Yes. The bacteria, it seems, always goes on the same path, always reaching the heart last," he replied.

Link had become quite pale, sickened by the description of the dreadful disease. "I-I'm sorry for you friend..." Link began but the old man waved away his apology. "No need. I try not to dwell on the past," Link looked down at his bare feet and kicked at the dirt ground. "So, um, can this...Ri...riyu...this disease affect other creatures or is it just deadly to dragons?"

"Unfortunately, just dragons. To other species, the bacteria is ineffective." Sharanan chuckled slightly when he noticed Link was a little "green around the gills". "Anyway, back to the pilgrimage. It is a week long event and everyone must go."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You didn't go," he pointed out. Sharanan nodded. "Yes, well. I went when I was much younger. These days I don't think I'd make the trip," he replied. Link nodded in understanding. "What about Firagaht?"

"Firagaht stays behind when the rest of the villagers are commuting. The village is vulnerable when it is uninhabited, you realize. He, of course, goes at a different time. As for the gate guards, they, obviously, protect the village while everyone is away. They also go at a different time, though not at the same time as Firagaht. He always goes alone."

Link would've asked why Firagaht went by himself on the yearly pilgrimage, but he suddenly realized that he had been rudely awakened from his peaceful sleep, and wouldn't mind returning to it. He yawned and covered his mouth with his hand to block Sharanan's view of his lungs, and glanced back at the road where villagers were still passing by.

"Sharanan, do you think the other dragons would notice, if I walked by them...that I'm not one of them?" Link peered over Epona's side curiously, as a particularly large group, presumably a family, strolled by.

Sharanan chuckled. "Most likely, young one. Perhaps you didn't realize this before, but dragons have much more acute olfactory senses than that of your race. As soon as you entered this village I could smell the scent that you carry."

Link sniffed his tunic. "Well I haven't taken a bath in a few days..." he said modestly. His attention switched back to the old man when he heard jolly laughter coming from his ancient frame. "Ah, Link! I didn't mean your body odor, though I did smell that too." Link watched in confusion as Sharanan continued to laugh, but slowly calmed down.

"Link, you see, all beings, living or inanimate, have a scent that is distinct to all other things. Especially in living creatures, each creature has its own individual smell that allows creatures such as dogs or dragons, like myself, to determine their identity. Even if you took a bath, Link, you could not wash that sent away. Albeit, if you are wet, your scent is harder to pick up but it is still present. I'm sure you are bored with this old man's ramblings and so now I will leave you to do as you wish until my granddaughter arrives."

Link pinkened a little at the mention of the female dragon he was to be meeting today and avoided eye contact with Sharanan. "When will she be arriving?" he asked. Sharanan glanced up at the sky. "Oh, right about now," he replied nonchalantly.

"Hey Gramps, I heard tell of a _Hylian_ in our town. I haven't seen a Hylian in ages...oh, hello."

Link turned slowly around when he heard the soft, melodic voice of what could only be a female. As he turned, he began to picture her in his mind. Strangely enough, an image of Zelda popped into his head. His revolution ended and Link stood before a stunning creature, who easily drop kicked Zelda's picture out of his mind.

There, standing before him was a young lady who looked, if she had been Hylian, around Link's own age of nineteen. She had long azure tresses that fell past her knees. Her bangs hooded most of her forehead, single blue strands looped over each ear, and shoulder length strands framed her face. Her eyes were a deep ruby red, and seemed pure and innocent, although they appeared to hide deep wisdom and knowledge in their depths.

She was of a medium build, and came up to Link's ear in height. Link tried not to seem like he was looking, but he noticed that the dress she wore was rather high, skirting (no pun intended) just above her knees. Of course, this was a skirt, Link simply was oblivious to this fact. It was new to him to see women show off as much leg as she was.

The skirt was of a light material and was white in color. The blouse attached was a lighter blue than her hair, but still a rather dark shade. She wore light brown boots that extended to the peak of her shins.

"Ah, Lira! You have returned safely to me. This is Link, the Hylian you apparently have already heard of. Link this is my granddaughter Lira," Sharanan introduced. Lira smiled and reached out hr hand. "Hello, Link. It is nice to meet you," she said kindly. Link shook her hand, instantly liking her. "It is nice to meet you too," he returned. Her hand was soft and warm, despite what her build would suspect you to think. She seemed like she labored just as hard as any Hylian man, and then some, simply from her countenance, but her hands still retained the femininity a normal noblewoman would have. He released her hand reluctantly and Lira turned her attention to her grandfather.

"How are you Gramps? Do you feel better?" she asked which puzzled Link. When had Sharanan showed any signs of sickness? Sharanan sighed suddenly seeming like the old geezer he was. "I have felt better, but nonetheless, I am alright," he answered. Lira gestured to the house. "We should head inside so we can talk about things where people will not hear," she said, her eyes lingering on Link briefly to let him know she was referring to the situation with him. Link agreed and the three of them entered the hut, covering the doorway securely with the thick sheet to prevent nosy passerbys from seeing

inside.

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	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Wow what a response! I personally didn't think that chapter was that great, but authors are always picky about their work. Anyway, here's chappie 4!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. I wouldn't really want to own Zelda anyway, I'd prefer Link

Breath of a Dragon

Chapter 4

Lira set her knapsack down upon the cold smooth floor of her grandfather's home and sat down cross-legged behind it. Link sat across from her and Sharanan sat beside her, the three of them forming a triangle. She dug through the sack and pulled out a little brown pouch. She tossed it to Sharanan, who caught it easily. "I brought back some snagweed for your medicine, Gramps," she said. Sharanan sniffed the pouch. "Thank you, Lira. There's a lot more this time. It will last me a lot longer than the last bunch you brought me." She nodded and turned to eye Link.

Link shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, but then she smiled, lighting up her whole face. "It's been so long since I last saw a Hylian," she said softly, her gaze floating over Link's figure, lingering on his pointed ears before resting finally upon his eyes. She tilted her head to the side. "You have the most beautiful blue eyes," she commented. Link blushed, unable to tear his eyes away from her. "Thank you," he mumbled. She giggled, able to hear the pounding of his heart from her place three feet away from him, unbeknownst to him.

Lira smiled at Link. "Did Firagaht-sama give you any trouble?" she asked. Link scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sort of. He told the guards to kill me." Lira gasped. "That Firagaht," Sharanan began, "Always acting like he has a stick stuck up his-" "Grandpa!" Lira interrupted scoldingly. Sharanan shrugged. "I am only stating my opinion, dear Lira." Lira gave him a scathing look. "That is no way to speak of our leader, even if he is a cold-hearted bastard...oops!" Lira covered her mouth, blushing. Sharanan chortled. Link chuckled too.

"Is there a reason why he's a...jerk?" Link asked. Lira cooled down a little and played with the hem of her skirt. "No...I-I don't think so," she replied. She didn't look at him when she answered nor did she sound too confident in her answer. Lira stood upabruptly. She bowed to them both. "I must take a bath now, so please excuse me," she said. She left the hut rather briskly. Link watched her go, a bit disappointed.

He turned to Sharanan. "Sharanan, did you notice that she seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about Firagaht...er sama?" Sharanan sighed. "I suppose anyway would prefer to avoid mention of him. He isn't exactly the most pleasant person in the world. But not to mention the fact that she is going to _marry_ him! Of course it would-"

"WHAT!" Link interrupted. "She's going to _marry_ him?" he repeated disbelievingly. Sharanan nodded solemnly. "Yes, unfortunately." "But why?"

Sharanan sighed once more. "It was an arranged engagement. She is betrothed to him. I suppose he wanted to marry her to ensure he has strong heirs to pass his position as leader down to. Did I ever mention that Firagaht is Shura's grandson?" Link shook his head.

"Yes, well, Firagaht's father also died of Ryuu no Yamai, it is a hereditary disease you see, and therefore Firagaht took over his father's position as leader at the young age of 162. Before his father died, though, he sealed my granddaughter's fate by having her betrothed to his son. He noticed Lira's potential for bearing healthy strong whelps." Link raised an eyebrow. "How did he notice that?" Sharanan squinted skeptically at Link. "Have you not noticed her aura, Link? I know you can sense it too. Her aura is indeed different from other dragons. Some have said that perhaps she could be the Chosen One...I do not think she is though. She simply has a stronger spiritual awareness than most."

Although Link really wanted to know what the Chosen One was supposed to be, a loud explosion from outside dashed any hopes of Link finding out just yet. "What was that?" he exclaimed. He and Sharanan rushed out the doorway into the broad daylight and looked up in the sky. It was hard to tell what was going on, but Link could decipher that a battle was raging above them.

"That devil!" Sharanan murmured from behind Link. "Link! Take your horse inside the hut! She will be safe there!" he commanded. Link quickly complied, taking the frightened mare within the secure confines of Sharanan's home. Coming back out, he shielded his eyes from the sun and stared up at the sky.

From what he could interpret, a blue dragon was doing battle with an ugly pale white creature with a long neck, a much smaller head than its opponent, no arms, instead of legs it had a long tail, large brown wings, and a horrible screech that was in no way beautiful but very frightening. "What is that?" Link questioned. Though it was rhetorical, Sharanan answered him. "A wyvern. Our sworn enemy."

The blue dragon rammed into the slightly smalle flying beast, but the wyvern retaliated with a deep bite in the right arm. The dragon cried out in pain as the wyvern still held its jaws in its skin and clawed at the creature, furiously trying to remove its grip. The wyvern let go of the dragon then and spun around, slamming its tail into the azure creature. Unfazed by the attack, the dragon grabbed the wyvern's tail with its teeth and bit down hard. The ugly flying beast shrieked in pain and the dragon easily flung it out of Link's sight range. The azure dragon let out a cry of victory and slowly descended from the sky. It transformed in midair and landed neatly on a house nearby. To Link's surprise, the dragon person looked familiar.

"Lira?" Without really thinking about his actions, Link climbed up the side of Sharanan's house and onto the roof. He leapt across the next house and the next until he reached where Lira was. She was holding her arm and panting slightly. She blinked and turned to watch him as he approached. "Lira! Are you alright?" he asked, concerned, when he reached her side. "Link, you shouldn't..."

Link didn't hear her though. He was about to reach for a bottle of Red Potion to give her for her injury when that horrible cry from before sounded in his ears. He turned ever so slowly to see the wyvern hovering just a few hundred feet away from them. Its dark beady eyes were directed upon Lira and it opened its mouth wide. Dark beads of energy permeated its head and became absorbed into a black ball of pure energy upon its tongue. Lira's eyes opened wide in fear, for Link, and horror. "No...!"

It fired the dark beam at her and would've connected if Link hadn't jumped in the way at the last minute. A bright flash of light blinded the three of them, Link, Lira, and the wyvern, and also all the villagers, including Sharanan who had been watching.

In an instant it was done: the wyvern was hit by a dark ball of energy and reverted to a human form before slamming into the inner side of the gates that walled the town, Link flew back, off of the roof, and landed in the alley below, and Lira stood there, dumbfounded and totally unscathed.

She blinked and noticed something shiny at her feet. She bent over to pick it up and discovered it to be a shard of metal. It was crimson in color and very smooth between her fingers. She pocketed it and leapt down in between the houses, landing beside Link who lay prone on the ground. She shook him gently.

"Are you alright, Link?" she asked. He groaned and rubbed his head, sitting up with her help. She noticed that he was covered in the strange shiny smooth metal she had found on the roof. Lira sniffed the air, suddenly smelling the metallic scent of blood. Link opened his hand to reveal the same shiny metal Lira had discovered. Most of it had cut into his skin with its jagged edges and blood dripped from his palm and fingers. "My shield..." he muttered, slightly dazed and disbelieving.

"Link, what happened?" Lira pressed. He snapped out of his daze to stare into her eyes. "I reflected the beam that wyvern sent at you back at it with my Mirror Shield and I guess it was so strong it shattered my shield upon impact," Link explained. He pulled the pieces of his once prized possession out of his skin and examined them skeptically. He realized the shards covered him and he brushed himself off. "It'll be _impossible_ to put back together..." he mumbled to himself.

"Where did you _acquire_ such a shield?" she asked him incredulously. Link shrugged. "It was an item I recieved in a temple back in Hyrule," he replied nonchalantly. She helped him to his feet. "It is, well, it was an interesting artifact," she smiled. "Thank you for saving me, Link," she kissed him daintily on the cheek, "I am forever in your debt." She giggled when she saw that his face had turned as red as a rose and his eyes became unfocused. Sharanan entered the alleyway and chuckled at the scene.

"I don't know what you'll die of first, loss of blood from the cuts in your hand, or from a nose bleed," he joked. Link blinked and touched the skin below his nose, with the uncut hand, to check for moisture. Indeed his nose was bleeding. He pinched his nostrils together and began to lean his head back to stop the blood from running down his face, when he felt Lira's hand on the back of his head, forcing him to keep his head level.

"No. You shouldn't lean your head back. The blood will suffocate you," she said. She reached into his pocket and pulled the Red Potion vial out and helped him drink it. Almost instantly, the bleeding stopped. Link thanked her and let out a breath of relief. He suddenly remembered Lira had been injured and was about to offer her some of his potion when he saw that the formally large gash in her arm was nearly completely closed up and was surrounded by dry blood. He pointed his finger at her arm, mouth agape, speechless. She noticed the direction of his attention and glanced at her nearly healed wound. "Oh. Dragons heal a lot faster than humans, or Hylians for that matter, do," she unveiled. Link nodded, closing his mouth.

At the gates of the town, a figure was slowly coming too. She groaned softly and was suddenly jerked from the ground, flanked by Kimon and Loe'n, the gate guards. She bared her sharp canines and struggled with them, fruitlessly. Link, Sharanan, Lira, and a great deal of the town gathered there to see this intruder. The aforementioned three were at the front, and when they were sure the woman was properly detained, approached her and the guards.

Lira crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the woman. She had long blond hair that reached to her waist and olive green eyes. She wore beige short shorts with a matching tank top. Both were torn probably due to skirmishes she had with adversaries. On her feet were light brown boats that came a little past her ankles. Affixed to her skin were strange markings: single stripes of lime green on her shoulders, forearms, thighs, and cheeks going horizontal wise. Speaking of her skin, she was as tanned as a Gerudo, which Link found odd because he thought all Gerudo had red hair and amber-colored eyes.

She glared daggers at Lira. "So, wyvern. Have you not learned your lesson in attacking our village?" Sharanan reproached. Her gaze shifted to him and she spat on his face. Sharanan flinched and wiped her spit off his facade, displeased with her response. "She's a wyvern?" Link asked. The girl now looked at Link and her eyes spread open slightly in shock. She scoffed. "A Hylian? I haven't seen one of your worthless kind in over a hundred years." Link frowned, not liking being called worthless. She winked at him.

"He's certainly a cute one. I'm sure you'll have fun with him, Lira!" she said suggestively as the guards carried her off. Lira and Link blushed furiously. She turned to Link. "Please ignore what she said! She didn't mean it!" Sharanan laughed. "You two are too easy to embarrass! (A/N: wow I used all three different types of "to" in one sentence!) You make her job easier!"

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Link and Lira sat on the roof of Sharanan's house while he cooked dinner. The wind swept her cobalt tresses majestically around her and her scarlet eyes were dim, as if she wasn't truly all there. Link sighed. "She seemed like she knew you," he stated. She jerked her head in his direction as if she had been pulled from her thoughts. "Who?" Link glanced over at her. "That wyvern girl. She said your name, and she seemed to have a grudge or something against you."

Lira smiled. "I guess you could say I'm rather popular with the wyverns, only not in the good way. They all hate me because I am to marry Firagaht-sama...Oh I forgot to mention that." Link shook his head. "I already knew. Sharanan told me." "Oh." She twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. "They know I would be able to bear strong whelps and so they have been trying to assassinate me to prevent Firagaht-sama from continuing his line of descendants."

Link glowered. "That's horrible! Why are the wyverns so against you dragons?" he demanded. Lira sighed. "It is a long story and I am tired right now. I will be willing to tell you after dinner though," she suggested. Link nodded and they both leapt down from the roof to enter Sharanan's home for dinner.

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I decided to end the chapter right there because it was getting kinda long. So how do you like? I kinda suck at action scenes, but I think I'm getting better than I used to be at it. Writing this chapter and introducing the wyverns made me change my whole original perspective for this story. Wheeeee! Next chappie will come soon. I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with a title for my story that I'm gonna write with the Zelda chars in the modern day world. A better summary is in my profile. Any ideas are welcome!

LunaRyuu


	5. Chapter 5

Top of Form 1Disclaimer: Don't own Zelda.

A/N: Thanks for the suggestion Wolfyu! I'll...think about it. I just might use it though, I have no other ideas.

Chapter 5

They had a quiet dinner of meat and rice before a cheery fire. Link never thought about it before, but he wondered suddenly why these dragons ate human food. He took a mouthful of rice and meat together and while he chewed he glanced over at Epona in the corner, munching on some straw.

It seemed odd to Link for his horse to be indoors, especially in such a small house. The hut was only half the size of Mido's house, the leader of the Kokiri back in Hyrule. Thinking about Mido made him think of Saria, his old best friend and Sage of the Forest. Thinking of _her_ made him think of the other sages and his friends back in his homeland. He was knocked out of his daydream by Sharanan clearing his throat.

Link turned to look at him. "I hear that you wish to know more about the wyverns, Link," he said. Link nodded. "Well, thousands of years ago, wyverns and dragons lived in harmony. Back during this time, there was no distinction between the two races. The ancestors of the wyverns trained in the arts of breath attacks. They separated from the rest and trained in seclusion. While the remaining, the ancestors of the dragons, trained in the arts of magic. Over time, because of this separation and the pursuit of different attributes, the wyverns and dragons began to evolve and change into what you see today.

"We dragons enhanced our knowledge of the world and other creatures and were renown for our scholarly ways. But there was a great wyvern warlock who summoned a great demon from the bowels of hell. This warlock loss control of the demon and it ravaged the lands the wyvern ancestors had claimed for their personal studies. 

"The wyvern ancestors begged the dragon ancestors for assistance in detaining the hellish beast and together they managed to seal the demon away in a void. They cast a spell, sealing the only keys to the void within the blood of a dragon maiden and a wyvern maiden. The way the spell worked was, the blood of the Chosen Ones had to be spilled upon the altar that is before the void in order to destroy it. Both maidens' blood, wyvern and dragon, must be used or it will not work. She and her female descendants would be the only ones who could break down the barrier and free the demon once more. 

"Although, the dragon and wyvern ancestors had separated, they were still within easy communicating distance. But then, after this spell was cast, it was decided that they should destroy all contact with each other, to ensure the seal is never broken. So they parted, the wyverns headed east and the dragons headed west. In the north was the original living grounds and where the demon was sealed and still is sealed today, and in the south is where the rest of the world, including your land of Hyrule, is now."

Sharanan stopped to sip some tea which had a strong smell. He must've put the snagweed into some water and boiled it. It wasn't a pleasant smell or a pleasant taste, from what Link could tell, as he watched Sharanan scrunch his face up in disgust. He waited expectantly for the old sage dragon to finish drinking and continue. Sharanan grunted and set down his cup. "Ah, Lira. Could you finish for me? I am feeling a bit weary."

Lira nodded. "My grandfather gave you the history, but I am sure all of your questions have not been answered," Lira began. "Well, over time, the wyverns became corrupted by the dark arts they practiced and a large group of them formed a dark alliance. Their main objective was to free the demon and allow it to destroy all other life on the planet so they could rule it themselves. They called themselves the Dark Sect and they claimed to have obtained the power to control the demon if it was released. As my grandfather said, the Chosen Ones must shed their blood on the altar to release it, so the Dark Sect  
attempted to find and kill the Chosen Ones' descendants and spill their blood to open the seal. They started with their own kind, wyverns. They went on a killing spree, slaying all the wyvern maidens they could find, but the real Chosen One was hidden away.

"The non-sect members cried out to the dragons for help, but they refused because they didn't want to get involved. Because of this neutrality, the wyvern race went through a period of time that consisted of anarchy and bloodshed. In time, the Dark Sect was defeated by a group of wyvern vigilantes and they returned to hiding.

"Peace was brief though, because the wyverns blamed the dragons for their near extinction and declared war upon them. The war, in a sense, is still going on even today, although, it isn't in the same sense that there are dying soldiers everyday. On occasion, a wyvern or two will challenge someone to a battle, but most of them have gotten over it, but there is still great hostility between us."

Link gulped down the rest of his food after the lengthy story. It wasn't the most fantastical epic in the world but this was all completely new to him. Normally he would be squirming and fidgeting, generally driving the storyteller crazy (while Zelda was telling him a bit of Hyrulean history, she had to bonk him over the head with her shoe a few times to get him to listen), because he couldn't stand to sit and listen to long speeches. But here, as Lira and Sharanan described the history of their people, Link was rooted to the spot, hanging onto their every word.

Sharanan suddenly spouted into a coughing fit and Lira's attention snapped to him. Moments later, he ceased but Lira continued to watch him with a concerned look on her face. 

"Lira," he said.

"Yes?"

"Go to the castle and see what that Firagaht is doing with the wyvern, won't you?" Lira nodded, standing. "Alright." She turned to Link. "Would you like to come too, Link?" she asked him. He scratched the back of his head. "I don't think your leader likes me very much," he protested. She smiled. "He is like that with everyone. You would know if he truly did not like you."

Link complied and the two of them bid Sharanan good-bye for now and walked down the streets of the town, heading for the dragon leader's dwelling. Link folded his arms behind his head and glanced at the villagers who were _trying_ to watch him inconspicuously, but they failed miserably. He leaned toward Lira. "Do they always do this when outsiders enter their village?" he whispered to her. Lira smiled. "They haven't seen a Hylian in over a hundred years, you must remember," she replied. "You have been here only two days and you are already popular with the ladies, Link," she added with a giggle,  
nudging him and gesturing over to his left.

Link, glancing over at a group of dragon maidens who were giggling and looking his way, while whispering to each other, blushed. He picked up his pace, Lira matching him, beaming the whole way. They reached the castle in no time.

Link never really looked at the castle last time he had stood before it, but he could discern that it was smaller than Hyrule Castle, but not small enough to be insignificant. There was no drawbridge or moat, just steps that led up to the large double door entrance. The two dragon guards in human form nodded to Lira and eyed Link suspiciously. They allowed him to pass only because they knew Lira would not bring someone untrustworthy into the castle.

Within the palace, a woman, who could pass for someone in their twenties, approached them. She had long flaming red hair and purple eyes. Her robes were also a flaming red. She wore a dress that reached down to her ankles and had slits in the sides that came up to her hips. The sleeves width was exceptionally long: it came down to her hips as well. When she lifted her arms, it kind of looked like she had extra flaps of skin that she probably could glide with if the wind was right. Her forehead was adorned with a light blue crescent moon. 

Suddenly remembering that the dragons had markings on their faces, Link glanced subtlely beneath Lira's bangs to see hers but saw nothing there. 'Well, _that's_ weird,' Link thought.

"Welcome, Lira-sama," the woman said. She gestured to Link. "And who might this be?"

"This is Link. He is a Hylian from the land of Hyrule and is staying with my grandfather and I for the time being. Link, this is Carmella. She is Firagaht's older sister," Lira introduced.

Carmella raised her eyebrows at the young Hylian. "A Hylian? And what brings you to our midst?" she asked. Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, I actually became lost and ended up here. It wasn't voluntary,' Link replied. "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here, Link," she said. She said his name kind of funny, as if suggesting more to her statement. It gave him the creeps how she was staring at him, eyes slightly narrowed, but one eyebrow just barely raised, and the corners of her mouth lifted up in a slight smirk.

"Carmella," Lira said, averting her attention from Link, obviously oblivious to the situation. "Do you know what has been done with the wyvern woman who was taken in not too long ago?" Carmella nodded. "Yes. Follow me."

She lead them down a dark and dank hallway, past several worn and rusted doors that looked like they hadn't been used in years, and down a long set of stairs that led to an even darker hall. Carmella stood at the bottom, waiting for them to catch up to her. Link had a feeling he was the only one who couldn't see more that a foot ahead of himself. He had to stand very close to Lira to make sure he didn't get lost and he hoped she didn't notice his proximity. He remembered back from the day before, that Sharanan had told him that dragons had very acute senses, so he assumed it was nearly bright as day in this dark cavern for them.

Because of the low ceiling, it was impossible to see past the bottom of the staircase and into the unlighted hallway, but he could see a bit of light lingering on the floor at the bottom of the staircase. When he and Lira reached the last step, Link could see light flooding into the short narrow passage they stood in from the slightly ajar thick metal doors before them.

"There. You will find Firagaht-sama and the wyvern in there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going." Link watched Carmella disappear up the stairs and turned back to see Lira already at the doors, waiting for him. He joined her and she pulled the heavy-looking doors open and stepped inside, with Link right beside her.

It was a large room they entered. The walls were made of crude rock that were chipped and worn. The floor was made of the same type of rocks and was uneven, some sections of the ground towered over other parts and showed whoever had constructed the room must not have put much effort into the process. The ceiling was high and cone-shaped.

All the walls came up to meet at a point at the peak of the ceiling. They were standing in what seemed to be a balcony that overlooked another room within this room that was in the center. There was a railing all around the perimeter that separated the two. At the bottom, Link could see that there was at least six feet of water flooding the middle.

Link felt a tug on his arm and realized that Lira was trying to lead him over to where Firagaht stood. He allowed her to steer him and watched the leader, who continued to ignore them, with mild dislike. Firagaht was leaning with his side against the rail and his arms crossed over his chest. He was glaring into a dark cage in a corner of the room, that Link just noticed now, with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Firagaht-sama," Lira spoke up. His gaze shifted to her without moving his head or his position and he pushed off from the rail and turned to face her. "Lira." He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to him to kiss her on the lips. Link suddenly felt a pang of jealousy, though he didn't know why. She was _engaged_ to the guy for crying out loud! He broke the kiss and finally briefly noticed Link, although he did not acknowledge him.

"Why are you here?" Firagaht asked, his traditional expression of apathy upon his princely countenance once more. "I wanted to know what you planned on doing with the wyvern woman." Firagaht, his hands still on her shoulders, glanced over at the cage he had been staring into previously. "She will be held in confinement until she is tried for her crime and pays the consequences," he replied simply.

"And what may her consequences be?" Lira pressed. The dragon leader returned his gaze to her and cupped her chin with his hand. "Do not worry yourself over such matters," he answered. "It will be taken care of." He released her and was about to brush by her, when she grabbed his arm.

"Tell me! Will it be death?" she whispered the last word. "For injuring you, there is a strong possibility. Such actions against my future wife will not be dismissable." He attempted to walk away again but she stopped him once more. "Don't let it be death! It wasn't that serious. Killing her won't be necessary!" she pleaded. His expression of boredom did not change but he raised his eyebrow slightly. 

"Attempted assassination isn't serious? Then tell me what you think is." Lira shook her head. "No! That isn't what I meant! She didn't kill me, nor did she mortally wound me!" Firagaht narrowed his eyes, changing his expression for the first time since they had begun speaking. He seized her by the shoulders again.

"Her filthy people need an example of what the consequences of attacking our people are. If we do not punish them, they will continue this. Do you wish to be attacked by them everyday?" he demanded. She shook her head, looking on the verge of tears. "Then she will be prosecuted as harshly as possible. To show those wyverns that we will not tolerate such actions against us."

Finally, this time when he attempted to leave, pushing past Link as if there wasn't plenty enough room to simply walk by him, she did not stop him. Her shoulders shook as she stared at the ground, trying to suppress the hot tears from flowing down her cheeks. She felt Link put his arm around her and nearly jumped at his comforting act. She had nearly forgotten he was there, he was so quiet.

"I would've jumped in and defended you, but I figured Firagaht-sama wouldn't listen to anything I say..." Link said softly. Lira smiled lightly up at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She said nothing in return though.

Link glanced once more into the jail cell hanging from the ceiling and steered Lira out of the room, she walking willingly with him.

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Wow. This is the longest one yet. Anywho reviews and comments and what not. I wanna know what you think. Is it boring? Is it interesting? Should I put in a love scene? Hee hee!

Oh, and I'm still asking for suggestions for my modern day Zelda story. I have written barely anything for it but I have a bunch of ideas, all up in my head.

-LunaRyuu


	6. Chapter 6

Bottom of Form 1Chapter 6

Lira stirred in her dreamless sleep. She pushed the covers off of herself and sat up, rubbing her sleep-filled eyes. Her ears twitched at the soft sound of a melody playing somewhere outside. The wind blew in from the doorway, chilling her hot skin. She shivered slightly and rubbed her arms with her hands.

Her curiosity got the best of her and instead of returning to her slumber, she stood from the floor and stepped outside in the still dark, but very early, morning. Her eyes flickered over the empty streets, searching for the source of the music. It was a lot louder out here and a lot clearer. It was a tranquil, soothing melody, nearly lulling Lira to sleep where she stood.

She turned around and tilted her head back to stare up at the roof. She smiled, realizing the Hylian's scent had been rather stale in the hut, as if he hadn't been in there for some time.

Lira leapt gracefully and silently onto the roof. She saw Link sitting a few feet away, eyes closed, and a strange blue instrument at his lips. She sat down beside him and listened to him play.

She closed her eyes and imagined lush forests and children playing in streams. She imagined trees all around, tall trees, and one particularly large tree that seemed to have...a face. The song ended abruptly and Lira slowly opened her large crimson eyes and faced Link who was regarding her with an odd expression.

"I'm sorry...Did I disturb your sleep?" he asked, gesturing to the foreign object in his hands. Lira smiled and shook her head. "No, I wasn't sleeping very well anyway." She tilted her head to the side. "Where did you learn that song, from your mother?" she asked innocently.

Link glanced up at the dark sky that was slowly lighting up. "My mother...died when I was born," he said sort of distantly. Lira put a hand over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Link smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "It's alright. I never knew her, so I don't really feel a loss," he replied.

Lira brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. "My mother and father died when I was young." Lira sighed. "I remember crying for so long..." "How did they die?" Link inquired gently.

"They were killed by a mob of wyverns," she replied simply. Link's eyes widened in surprise. Her parents had been killed by wyverns yet she had pleaded with Firagaht to let the wyvern woman be spared from death? Link glanced down into his lap. "You're a really compassionate person, aren't you?"

Her ruby gaze shifted to him from the slowly rising sun, filled with confusion. Link matched her gaze, though it was filled with admiration. "You can't seem to feel hatred for the wyverns even though a mob of them killed your parents," he clarified. Lira closed her eyes and inclined her head toward the sky. "I got over it, and I realized that filling my heart with hatred and ignorance will prevent me from learning all that life has to offer me," she said, turning to smile at him at the end.

Changing the subject Lira pointed at the blue wind instrument. "Tell me what that is, Link." Link held the instrument up for her to see. It seemed to glow with a mystical blue light. "It's called an ocarina. This one in particular is called the Ocarina of Time." She held out her hands and Link placed it gently in her palms. She stroked her thumbs over its smooth surface, fascinated.

"O-ca-ri-na," she repeated slowly. Do you...mind if I try to...play?" she asked, giddily. Link shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead." She placed the ocarina at her lips and blew. A loud shrill note was emitted from the instrument. "Ooops!"

Link guided her fingers over the holes and told her which notes were which. He managed to teach her how to play the version of Zelda's Lullaby that Impa had taught him. Lira laughed and clapped her hands together when she successfully played it. "You're a quick learner, Lira!" Link congratulated. Lira handed the Ocarina of Time back to him. "Your land of Hyrule must be interesting with its ocarinas and Mirror Shields!" The two of them laughed.

The sun was rising, casting hues of reds, golds, and oranges across the sky and the sunrays shone on Lira's face and shimmered on Link's golden blond hair. Lira stood to her feet. She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face. "I'd like to go there, one day," she said sort of dreamily. "Everyone would love you," Link said, standing as well. "Zelda would love to meet you."

Lira blinked and turned to stare at Link. "Zelda?" she repeated. 

He nodded. "She is the princess of Hyrule, and my friend."

"Oh."

An awkward silence ensued for a few moments. Link heard Epona neighing. He glanced over at Lira. "Maybe we should head back inside..." She nodded and they both leapt off the roof to the road below. They didn't make it inside before a dragon soldier caught them at the door.

"Lira-sama! Firagaht-sama wishes to have you in his presence at the castle." His gaze flickered to Link briefly. "Alone," he added. Lira nodded. "Alright. Link, will you wait for me?" Link was regarding the dragon soldier suspiciously. "Yeah...I'll wait," he answered. The man and Lira walked off in the direction of Firagaht's dwelling.

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Link was causally walking through town, trying to kill time till Lira returned. He had greeted and introduced himself to nearly all the townspeople, most of which were very curious and fascinated by him.

He had discovered the Dragon Clan, as they referred to themselves as, were a very intellectual species. They were kind and didn't mind answering a few of Link's questions. They certainly didn't mind asking Link tons of questions either! A crowd surrounded him and he had to fight his way free just to breathe. He escaped and ran down a back street. He had walked by the castle at least twice within the last hour. "What could Firagaht suddenly want from Lira so early in the morning, and take so _long_?" he muttered to himself. Freezing in his tracks, his face scarlet, he suddenly thought of a reason, but quickly shook it away. "That couldn't be it," he mumbled, shaking his head vigorously to clear away such thoughts.

He wandered by the fortress, hoping to see Lira coming down the stairs in that grace that was unique to herself. He was surprised when he saw her standing at the bottom of the staircase, looking around as if searching for someone. She spotted him and waved, running over to him. "Link! You waited!" She was smiling from head to toe and her dazzling image left Link's mind at a blank. He shook his head and grinned at her. "Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?" Lira grabbed his arm and began pulling him toward the palace. "Come! I want to show you something!"

Inside the palace, the pair headed down a brightly lit hallway and into a room filled with books. Link could only assume it was a library. Lira released Link and climbed up a ladder to the top to reach for a large black book. She tugged at its binding to pull it out but it wouldn't budge. Frustrated, she grabbed it with both hands and jerked hard. The book popped out of its spot, and with her momentum, Lira lost her balance and began to plummet to the floor. She would've hit the ground if Link had not caught her in his arms. She smiled sheepishly at him as he set her down on her feet. "Thank you. I must have looked like such a fool..." She pressed a palm to her cheek as she reddened with embarrassment from falling so ungracefully in front of him.

Link scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm always clumsy around people I li-... er, um... What's that book you got there?" he switched subjects most obviously. Lira blinked at him but decided not to bother and set the book down onto a table.

"This," she opened it to the middle, "is an ancient text, written back when the wyverns and dragons were in neighborly distance of each other."

In the center of the page, there was a hollowed out core. Inside it there was a little black metal box, looking to be worn from age. Lira pulled out the box and showed it to Link. He watched her curiously as she opened it and looked over her shoulder to see inside. Lira slipped her fingers into the box and retrieved from its innards a small rusted key. It looked like it had been black at one point. The grooves were worn but still appeared usable for a lock.

"What do you think it's for?" Link asked. Lira smiled at him. "There is a door in the castle dungeons that is locked. For as long as I can remember, it has always been closed and no one has gone into it in years. I've asked Firagaht-sama about it, but he would never tell me where it leads to. I think this might be the key for it!" she said excitedly. Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, couldn't it be for _any_ door in this castle? It could be for a chest or a diary or something. There's no real proof that it's for that door," Link disagreed. Lira pouted. "You don't believe me? Fine! I will show you the door and we'll see if the key fits!"

Down in the dungeons, Link held a lit torch to light the path to the mysterious doorway they were heading for. Lira walked ahead of him, leading the way. They walked down what seemed like thousands of twists and turns and eventually down a small staircase. At the end of the reasonably long hall, there was a lone door that ended the hallway. It was large and made of the odd metal that was the floor and ceilings of the dragons' houses.

Lira reached into her pocket and removed the key from its depths. She approached the door while Link ran his hand along the smooth surface. "What type of metal is this?" he asked the native girl. Lira glanced up from trying to work the lock. "It's a special alloy that is mined in the underground mines in the mountains that are nearby the village," she replied. "Ah! There!"

Link nearly fell forward as the door gave way and opened into an enormous dark dreary chamber. A gray mist spilled into the hallway they stood in. Link exchanged glances with Lira who was smirking at him. "I told you it was for this door," she said. Link didn't reply and stepped into the room, Lira behind him.

There were vines creeping up the walls as broad as tree trunks and others as thick as Link's arms. He carefully stepped over a tree root that was protruding through the ground, as thick as Link's whole body. He coughed lightly. The mist was hard to breathe in and it irritated his nose a little. At the other end of the room there was a humongous tree whose roots were spread all about the room's floor and walls. The branches were numerous and wide, filled with fresh, healthy-looking green leaves. This seemed odd to Link because the rest of the tree looked ancient and as if it was on its last few days. The trunk was a grayish color and was peeling in many places.

Lira gasped, staring up at the tree. Link looked at her. "Is this tree special?" he asked. Lira shook her head and pointed at some tree limbs that were near the top of the tree. Link followed her gaze and gasped too in horror at the sight. There, hanging from the thick arms of the trees, were several dead bodies. They looked old and gray like the tree as if they had been there as long as the mammoth plant. They hung from there necks and were held up by brown ropes.

"What the hell!" Link exclaimed. He ran to the tree and began climbing up to reach them. Lira leapt up onto the branches and Link met her up there. Link poked at one of the bodies and it twirled slowly around on the rope it hung from.

"This is disgusting!" Lira whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the way the corpses were mutilated. There were five of them. Each had large gashes all over their bodies. Two had their legs cut off at the knee and two others had missing fingers. The last one was missing a whole arm. What was worst, was that all the bodies appeared to be that of young females!

Link wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Who or what could have done such a thing?" he muttered, standing carefully from his crouched position on a thick branch. He glanced over at Lira. She was standing with her mouth and nose covered with one hand and her eyes squeezed shut.

Link made his way over to her cautiously, a bit worried. "Lira, are you alright?" he asked, placing a hand upon her arm. She responded by flinging her arms around him and sobbing coherently. He patted her back, feeling a little awkward, and they both sunk to the limb's surface, Link sitting with his back against the trunk and Lira sort of in his lap. Lira pulled back a little to look at Link's face. "I'm sorry Link, to just throw myself at you, but..." her lip trembled and Link squeezed her arm reassuringly. "I _knew_ some of these women!" After revealing this truth, she threw her arms around Link again and continued to weep. Link wasn't quite sure how to react to this, but he knew who or whatever had done this would die a slow and painful death.

Link patted her back again, hoping she would calm soon because he felt embarrassed in this position. "I'm sorry again, Link. I couldn't help it. It's just that...I..." As she was speaking, she had lifted her head to be level with Link's. She reddened when she realized how close they were, there lips merely inches apart. All Lira could think of, was this wasn't exactly the most romantic place in the world to do..._anything_.

Link didn't know what came over him, but the sight of her pink lips caused him to lose all ethical thought. All he could think of was how she would taste. So he cupped her cheek and was a bit surprised when she closed her eyes, and drew her forward, closer, and closer, until he could feel her breath on his face.

BOOM!

The entire tree shook, jarring the pair from their focus upon each other. The cadavers swung violently from their ropes, the ropes looking ready to snap. Lira was slammed against Link's chest and uttered a small squeak of surprise. Link wrapped his arms around her protectively and tried to re-situate himself on the tree branch. "What was _that_!" he exclaimed.

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Whoopsie! I forgot this the last time, but do I really have to put one each chapter? It gets really redundant to say I don't own The Legend of Zelda. A/N: Thanks for the review Arnath Nightblade. It's kinda weird, the Mirror Shield thing  
you were talking about was something I was going to do later on in the story. Maybe you can read minds or something. Ha ha ha! Anyway here's chapter 7.

Top of Form 1Chapter 7

BOOM!

The door slammed shut after this second crash. Lira shrieked. Link followed her shaking finger to one of the ugliest creatures he had ever seen in his life. It crawled around like a lizard on all fours, but could stand to its full height on its hind feet. Its skin was a mud brown and lumpy, some lumps seemed to be pulsating, a fact that totally grossed Link out. Its tail was long and snake-like with a spiked ball at the end. 

There were at least seven eyes all bugged out and yellow. Two vicious-looking silver horns, at least five feet long each, protruded from its ugly head like antennaes. A row of smaller, about three feet, silver spikes went down its back and stopped where the tail began. Its hands and feet were three-fingered, with large, thick dull gray claws that were stained with old blood. Its mouth was huge, stretching from each side of its head and was filled with rows of sharp yellow teeth and a slithering pink tongue.

It emitted a horrible cry and rammed into the tree headfirst. Link lost his balance and nearly fell off into it waiting mouth, but Lira caught his arm and pulled him back up. "What _is_ that?" Link asked in horror. "I don't know, but I have a feeling this is its nest and we are intruding!" Lira turned to him with a determined expression on her face. "Link, do you have a long range weapon?" Link nodded. "Arrows," he replied. "Good. Cover me while I try to take it down or at least pacify it."

She leapt off the branch, transforming in midair, and dive bombed the disgusting creature. Link strung an arrow and aimed at one of its eyes and let it fly. It struck true to its mark and the monster cried out in pain.

Link was stringing another arrow, when he heard an odd sound behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a most horrible sight. Some creature was pushing through the stomach of one of the girls hanging from the ropes!

When the opening was large enough, it shot out of its encasement and latched onto Link's face. "Augh!" The Fairy Bow slipped through his fingers and plummeted to the ground below. With his hand now free, Link took hold of a good chunk of the baby creature's flesh and tried to remove it with little to no success. He could feel its little suckers on its "hands" and "feet" which were on either side of Link's head, pulling at his skin.

He suddenly felt greatly fatigued and he fell back against the trunk, his feet dangling off on either side of the thick branch. 'This thing...' Link thought groggily, 'must be sucking away at my energy.' With his last few bits of vitality, he stabbed the arrow that he had still held in his hand deep into the creature's slimy body. It screeched and released Link, falling to its death on the ground below.

The Hylian breathed heavily, as it had been difficult to obtain air with that wretched thing on his face, and felt his head for any wounds. He glanced over at the other bodies and saw similar things happening to them like the first. Link swore harshly. He didn't want to do it but he knew he had to if he didn't want another one of those things latching onto him.

He unsheathed his Gilded Sword and chopped up the remaining bodies, dicing up the sick creatures as well. He swung his blade to flick the blood off and nearly fell off the tree again when it shook violently. He got down on his knees and looked down at the battle elow. He gasped when he saw Lira in dragon form slumped against the base of the mammoth tree and the ugly monster advancing on her.

"Damn! It must've gotten the best of her because I wasn't distracting it!" Link swiftly leapt off the limb and descended rapidly to her rescue, hoping she wouldn't be angry with him later. He landed feet first on the abominable lizard monster, bursting several of its lumps and had the unfortunate mishap of being doused with green ooze.

"Ugh!" He brought his sword down, tip first, into its back and held on tight as it squirmed and shook itself trying to rid itself of the giant toothpick in its back. Link had to force himself to block out its horrible screams ringing in his ears.

Fully immersed in the task at hand, he didn't notice the hand of the creature closing around him until it was too late. The hero lost his grip on the golden sword and was lifted high into the air before being leveled with its face. Its horrible, _horrible_ face.

It opened its jaws slightly, breathing toxic waste smelling breath, and gave Link a front row view of its, at least, eight rows of teeth. Link struggled with its grip and was rewarded with it tightening its hold. Its many eyes blinked at him consecutively instead of all at once, dizzying Link greatly.

It seemed to enjoy watching him writhe in pain and clenched him tighter once more. It leaned its head back when Link showed it just how powerful his lungs were, giving his trademark yell.

He was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. He felt like all his bones were being crushed to little pieces. It was extremely hard to take in just a bit of oxygen to satisfy his burning lungs. Just when he felt the last of his consciousness slipping slowly away, the grip loosened and he felt like he was falling, falling and suddenly realized he really _was_ falling!

He felt something warm and liquidy splash on his face and seep through in-between the monster's fingers to soak the rest of his body. His eyes were closed at the moment but he could hear the vague screams of the monster that had been trying to kill him. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he recognized that he was on the ground along with the creature's arm. It registered in his mind that the creature had been dismembered! By who, he wasn't sure and he squinted up at the rest of the monster as a black blur chopped the rest of it into pieces.

He closed his eyes again and blacked out for a few minutes. He awoke when he felt someone shaking him by the shoulders. Sound was the next sense to be revitalized and Link heard the familiar sweet sound of Lira's voice calling his name.

"He's coming to," Link heard another familiar voice, this one was deep and manly, that he couldn't quite discern just yet. He opened his eyes and was met with Lira's concerned ruby red gaze. She helped him sit up and he coughed up blood, some of his own and some belonging to the creature. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, only succeeding in smearing more blood on his face and tasting its acrid and metallic taste.

"Link, are you alright?" Lira asked, brushing a blood-soaked strand of his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, I think so," he replied, his voice sounding raspy for being oxygen-deprived for a few minutes. He glanced upwards and saw Firagaht standing before them, regarding him with a disdainful expression, his arms crossed over his chest. At his side was a large wicked scythe that stood on its own. The hilt was black and the blade was a shimmery sapphire, like a pure stream of water. Droplets of blood dripped from the blade and splattered on the floor. Link noted, also, that Firagaht was covered in not a single drop of blood himself, while he, Link, was drenched in it.

"It was _you_!" he mumbled weakly. Lira rested his head in the crook of her arm when he started to drift off. "Yes, Firagaht-sama did save us," Lira clarified for her future husband what Link was trying to say. The dragon leader in turn narrowed his eyes. "You could've been killed, Lira. Why were you in here?"

Lira avoided his stern gaze and stared at the ground. "I apologize, Firagaht-sama. I found a key and I thought it would open this door and I tried it and it _did_-"

"So you would disobey my orders just to satisfy your own curiosity?" 

Lira opened her mouth to speak, her face red with embarrassment, but no sound came out.

"Boy."

Link met the dragon leader's gaze, assuming he was referring to him. Firagaht reached into his cloak and retrieved Link's blade from it. "I'm assuming this belongs to you," he said smugly, tossing it at Link's feet.

Link lifted the sword into his hands with slight difficulty because he was so tired, and with Lira's help he stood up. "Thanks," he mumbled. Firagaht turned his back on them and started walking towards the exit. "Come. Let us not spend much longer in this room."

They followed him out silently and he stopped them when they reached the lit hallways. He turned back around to face them. He regarded them for a few moments before finally deciding to speak. "Lira, take him to the baths. He will not drip blood on my floors," he said, disdain dripping from his voice. Although it appeared Firagaht hadn't a single inkling of concern in his speech, his face betrayed him. "When he is finished, you will both come to the conference room."

With that being said, he turned on his heel and was gone. Lira smiled at Link. "I think he was worried about you," she said. Link snorted. "Fat chance." Suddenly remembering he had left something else back in that locked room, he stopped Lira from ushering him and tried to go back. "What are you doing, Link?" she asked when he started struggling with her. "My bow and arrows!" "Don't worry. I have them right here." She gestured to her back where Link's Fairy Bow and quiver were strapped onto her. Link sighed with relief. "Oh, good."

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Link let out a deep breath he had been holding in and sunk deeper into the steaming hot waters of the indoor hot springs. A mini waterfall at the other end of the pool poured more water in but since there was a drain at the bottom, the amount of water entering and the amount exiting balanced out. The pool was in the shape of an oval and was about twenty feet by ten. Trees that ranged from four feet to seven, were scattered around the pool, giving it an outdoorsy feel. The bed of the spring was made of water-smoothed rocks and there were stairs made of the same type that descended into the pool. Steam rose from the water mystifying the whole room.

Link closed his eyes contentedly. Nothing felt better than this. The hot liquid eased his tense muscles and totally relaxed his whole mind and body. When he at first stepped into the spring, the water had turned a nasty red color from the blood that he had been covered in, but now, since there was a drain, there was no sign of the thick crimson liquid anywhere. With the blood that had been washed away, his worries had followed. 

He opened his eyes just to slits when he heard the sound of water being displaced. Across the pool, he could make out the figure in the fog of a person entering Link's bath. Arching an eyebrow, Link wondered who it could be, when the mist thinned out and their identity was revealed.

"LIRA!" Link exclaimed, diving under so the water came up to his chin. He had startled her and she was staring at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression on her face. "Wha-what are you doing in here?" he demanded. She treaded water, coming closer, much to Link's dismay, and rested against the wall five feet away from him. "What does one do in a hot spring?" she asked, a little annoyed by his question. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun to keep from getting wet and she was wrapped up in a white towel that skirted her knees, unlike Link, who was completely naked.

Link made a face that she didn't see because she had closed her eyes. "I mean why are you in _here_? Isn't there another-" He paused when he saw the look of hurt on her face. "You don't want me in here?" she interpreted. Link shook his head vigorously, waving his hands in the air. "No! No! That's not it at all!"

She turned to face him now. "Then what is the matter?" Link sighed trying to figure out a way to explain to her how inappropriate the situation was. "You see, where I come from, men and women do not bathe together," Link began. Lira tilted her head to the side. "Why?" she asked. Link reddened. "Uh, well, because men and women prefer to have, uh privacy, and um...stuff," he stuttered. "Well, if they wish to have privacy, they can just not look at each other. There is no need for separate rooms for each gender," Lira replied matter-of-factly. "And, what if the man and woman are married. Do they still not bathe together?"

Link avoided her gaze. "Well, I don't know. I guess if they wanted to." He was getting _really_ uncomfortable with this topic and even more uncomfortable because Lira was moving closer. "And you know! We're not married, so uh, we shouldn't bathe together!" Link blurted out in a panic when she was merely three feet away. Lira halted immediately in her tracks as soon as he said this.

Before Link could take it back or even realize the effect of his words he saw the result. Lira lowered her head so her bangs cast shadows over her face, leaving her expression to be a mystery to Link, though he could probably guess. "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, Link. Please excuse me then." She bowed quickly, turned around and walked as quickly as the waist deep water would allow her to leave. Stunned was Link, that he didn't even react until it was too late and she was gone.

Link sighed. "I'm such an idiot," he mumbled to himself.

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Oooo! Another cliffie! I'm on a role! Actually the reason I left the chapter here was because it was getting kind of long, so I just decided to end it there. But I know you love me anyway, right? Right?

(Turns around and there's a mob of readers with pitchforks, torches, and shotguns)

Ok, maybe I was wrong. 

(While running) Well review to your heart's content, whatever that means, and tell me what you think of the story!

If you like romance and angst, check out my other fic Guardian Angel. It's really nice in my opinion, I just hope you think so too.

(Trips over strategically placed crack) Mommy!

-LunaRyuu


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.

A/N: means telepathy. Whoopsie that's kind of a spoiler, but I wouldn't want my  
readers to be confused!

Chapter 8

In the conference room, they sat down at a large round table. Firagaht was at the head, if you can really call it the head of a round table, and Lira sat two seats to his left. Link sat across from her, two seats from Firagaht's right. Lira stared down at the table, avoiding all eye contact with Link and generally making him feel even worse for hurting her feelings. 'Damn the cultural barrier!' Link thought to himself.

Firagaht sat reclined in his comfy velvet-cushioned wooden chair. He noticed that there was an air of unease between Lira and Link and briefly wondered why, but decided to ignore it for now.

"Lira," he began but she cut him off. "Firagaht, I would like to know what that monster was in there and why you kept it a secret from me all these years," she said, an air of determination surrounding her as she spoke.

For the first time and probably the last, Link saw Firagaht surprised. This expression immediately changed to one of annoyance as he regarded her sternly. "I had no reason to inform you of that creature, Lira, that is why," he replied. Lira stood from her seat abruptly, startling Link.

"We are to be married, correct?" It was rhetorical so she didn't wait for an answer, "What if one of our children came across that key and somehow connected it with that door and decided to open it? You would be the only one to know the dangers of that room. What if you weren't around when it happened? What would you expect me to do? Tell me Firagaht. What would I be able to do?"

Firagaht almost chuckled. "Dear Lira, such a tale is greatly fabricated and I wonder what kinds of stories your grandfather tells you," he began. She glared at him hotly. "I assure you, such a situation would not occur. Too many unrealistic measures. You think quite highly of our unborn children. So please, sit down."

She sat down in a huff, glaring daggers at him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "But, I suppose I have been leaving you in the dark for many things. Perhaps I should start informing you of more matters, since you are to be my wife soon."

He kept adding that into the conversation as if he was bragging about, Link noted, and it really annoyed the young hero.

"That room you found was used to house that creature. That creature was a Tree Lurker. It is a type of monster that lays eggs in the bodies of young creatures smaller than itself, preferably female... It gets its name from the fact that it plants a seed that grows into a mammoth tree like what you saw in that room and uses it as its nest for its young. They are very powerful creatures, as you probably figured out the hard way, Lira, they give us dragons quite a bit of trouble."

"Why was it being held in there?" Lira asked, having calmed down from her outburst from before. "It was being studied. A few of my scholars have been observing its behavior and such to further understand it and therefore overcome its overwhelming advantages over us."

Link looked confused for a moment. "But you defeated it so easily. How can it really be a potential threat if it was so easy for you to kill?" 

Firagaht looked at him for the first time without much contempt. "It was old, not to mention we have gathered enough information on Tree Lurkers to know its weak spots," he replied.

"Then, tell me why...those girls...why were they in there?" Lira asked uncertainly. Firagaht closed his eyes for a brief moment, perhaps thinking of a way to explain their presence in that room to her. "The scholars...were to provide food for the creature...I suppose they used the-"

"How could you let them!" Lira burst out, fighting off tears. "How could you let them use those girls for food!" Link's heart reached out for Lira, feeling her pain. He would've probably acted the same, sans the crying, if his friends had been fed to a disgusting creature like that. He leaned forward in his seat, wanting to know what Firagaht would say to this.

"I knew nothing about it, prior to today," he replied simply. Lira scowled at him. "Liar! You knew about! You're just lying to me!" she exclaimed. "Calm yourself, Lira. I am not lying to you, so do not accuse me of doing so. My scholars probably did this on their own and did not inform me. If you wish, I shall punish them for such actions."

Lira crossed her arms over her chest, wiping furiously at her eyes. For the most part, she had calmed down, though Link was unsure if she believed him. Link didn't know why, but he felt he could trust Firagaht on the matter. He didn't think he was lying about not knowing. He had had experience, second-hand, with officials doing things under the King of Hyrule's nose.

000000000000000

Link rushed after Lira after they had been released from the conference room. He caught her arm and forced her to stop. "Lira, please, I'm sorry for what I said in the hot springs. It was a misunderstanding, I swear!" She didn't reply nor did she turn around but Link had a feeling she was listening.

"You see, in Hyrule, it's...well, improper for a man to bathe with a female if they are not married. And when you were in there with me, I just felt kind of...you know uncomfortable because I don't usually bathe with...ah other women," Link explained. He hoped Lira would forgive him. Seeing her hurt sent a great pang through his heart and he didn't want to see her sad.

She turned to face him, eyes slightly shimmering with unshed tears. "So you don't hate me?" she asked hopefully. "Of course not! Why would I hate you? Why would anyone hate you? You're such a pleasant person!" Link added for flattery. She smiled brightly and flung her arms around him. "Oh, I'm so glad!" she murmured into his shoulder. She pulled back, showing him her brilliant smile. Link grinned too. Her smile was so infectious.

Outside the castle, Lira leaned back and stood on her tiptoes-toes, breathing in the afternoon air. "Link, you've been cooped up in this village for a few days. Would you like to see the outside?" she asked the Hylian. Link grinned. "Sure. I'd love to." Lira lead him to the gates, and nodding at the guards, passed through out into the large field that surrounded the village.

They were walking together and it was peaceful on the outside. He could hear birds chirping and flying gracefully overhead in the deep blue sky. He could smell all the wildflowers that bloomed at his feet. It was an altogether tranquil atmosphere and Link greatly enjoyed it. He folded his arms behind his head and leaned his head back a little to let the sun shine warmly on his face. He wanted to forget everything, but certain thoughts kept nagging at him.

He sneaked a glance over at Lira and saw she was in her own little world, smiling at everything. She bent over a flower to place in her hair and skipped along, a little ways ahead of him. Link wanted to ask her but he had a feeling she didn't want to talk about it. The thought of being forced to marry someone who you weren't entirely compatible with was enough to make Link want to stay celibate forever. How could you spend your whole life with someone you couldn't stand? It was a mystery to Link. He wondered suddenly if Zelda was going to have an arranged marriage.

He cringed. He hadn't been gone too long and he already felt homesick. It was understandable though. He had never been this far from home before. If you exclude Termina, he had never really left Hyrule in his life before. He had been gone only about a week and a few days and already he had made some friends. Speaking of friends, he glanced over at Lira again. She was staring at him.

"What?" he asked, a little unnerved by her steady gaze on him. She giggled. "You were so deep in thought, you didn't hear me call your name," she replied. Link blushed. "Oh, sorry." She tilted her head to the side. "I could nearly see the thoughts on your face. You were thinking about your home, weren't you?"

A little weirded out, Link nodded in affirmation. "Yeah. How did you know?" he asked. She gazed up at the sky. "I guess you could a call it a gift," she said vaguely. "What kind of gift?" Link urged.

They had reached the mountains that Lira had told them they were going to see. They seemed to stretch for miles and miles. Lira had told him they had been heading west. He was stunned by the size of the mountains, each one making Death Mountain look like a really big boulder. Even the smallest of the mountains dwarfed the home of the Gorons back in Hyrule.

"I'll tell you if you promise to never tell anyone else," she said, stopping and looking at him with a serious expression, quite contrast to her previous cheery look. "I promise," Link replied, wondering what could cause her to become so solemn all of a sudden. "Well, I have-"

CRASH!

'Crud!' Link thought. Up at the top of the smallest mountain there was a congregation of wyverns. At least twenty of them in all were circling the mountain while several were perched on its peak. The crash had been caused by three of them shooting breath attacks into its side and breaking apart large pieces of hardened sediment that were rolling rapidly down the mountain. Right in there direction.

"Looks like they knew it was us," Link muttered. He was yanked out of his cynical mood when Lira jerked his arm. "Link, climb onto my back!" His face turned bright red and he stared at her incredulously. "What!" "Just do it!"

He obeyed, climbing onto her back a little awkwardly and was briefly disoriented when she transformed into dragon form and flew high into the air. He held on tightly to her back and observed with fascination as the ground sunk away and his stomach descended into his feet. He watched with relief as the boulders that had come down the mountain smashed into the ground right where they had been.

Link! Can you hear me?

Link, puzzled, looked in all directions for the location of that voice. Was that Lira he had just heard?

Link! Answer me!

Link rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. The voice was coming from inside his head!

"Yeah, I hear you...Lira?" Link replied uncertainly.

Dragon Lira turned her head to look back at him. Though her mouth wasn't moving, she was speaking again into his head.

Yeah, it's me. We won't be able to head back to the village just yet, not with those wyverns attacking us. We'll need to ward them off or they'll strike the village. You shoot arrows while I attack. And this time cover me!

Link sweatdropped. "Heh heh. About that-"

Don't worry about it right now. Just shoot!

Quickly, Link strung an arrow as Lira approached the herd of wyverns. He let it fly and caught one of the flying ones, in the wing. It shrieked and shot a jet of icy cold air at the duo. Lira dodged then countered with her own breath attack, fire. It scorched the wyvern and it flew to the ground sizzling.

The other wyverns, seeing their fallen comrade, charged at Lira who was ready for their assault. She shot several jets of flames at them, only catching two of the five that came at her. Link fired a Fire Arrow at a wyvern that was coming from the left. It screeched in pain. Link lowered his bow for a moment. "Huh...They seem to be weak against fire," he mused. He was jerked to the side when Lira dodged sharply to the right. Link felt a cold breeze nick his face and knew Lira had just barely dodged a breath attack.

Are you alright Link?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look out!"

It was too late though, the wyverns that had been perched on the mountain top had shot a combined breath attack their way. The large wave beam was much to expansive to dodge in time and they were hit with it full force. In an instant, Lira untransformed and she and Link tumbled to the ground. Link caught Lira in the air and protected her from the fall,  
landing hard on his back with her on top of him, her back against his chest.

He grunted in pain. "Din, that hurt!" he growled through gritted teeth. Luckily, his Hylian Shield had absorbed most of the shock. His back still felt like someone dropped a boulder on it though. He slowly sat up, holding Lira in his lap. He looked up at the sky and saw the wyverns circling overhead. He held Lira protectively to himself. He had a feeling they had a reason for attacking them and it wasn't just for revenge from long ago.

Ten of them landed, sending large shockwaves through the ground beneath Link. They transformed into their human shapes. He had a hardened expression on his face as they approached.

They all looked like rogues. Their clothes were in tatters, though Link had a feeling it was because it was a style rather than a lack of better attire, and were always cut short, the females wearing short skirts or short shorts and the men wearing shorts. Their hair colors ranged from blue to pink and they had tanned skin just like the previous wyvern Link had met in town the other day. Stripes of various colors adorned their skin as well. 

They were sneering at him and it made Link angry. He drew his sword, laying Lira gently down, and stood to his feet, ready to attack. Two of them charged at him and he braced himself, he was going to let them attack and then counter them.

His plan would've worked if he wasn't hit from behind. He fell hard on his face on the ground and felt someone grab his arms and twist them painfully behind his back and their knees press down on him as if they were kneeling on him. "Got ya!" he heard a female voice say in his ear.

He soon heard sniggers from all sides. "Huh, look at the little Hylian, trying to fight us off. What a riot!" one male voice said and the others roared with laughter. Link rocked back and forth trying to knock the wyvern on his back off to no avail. He was pulled roughly to his feet. One of the male wyverns with short spiky green hair had Lira slung over his shoulder. 

Link tried to pull away. "Let her go! Take me instead!" he pleaded. A silver haired male wyvern with blue streaks, who seemed to be the head honcho of the posse, crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would we do with a Hylian?" he asked. 

A female with pink hair and white streaks came into Link's view smirking at him. She cupped his chin and lifted his face to look at her. "I think he's kinda cute," she said. Link jerked his chin out of her grasp. She turned to the leader. "How bout we bring him along too?" The leader shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. We only came here for Lira. You can do whatever you want with him, Salar," he replied. He motioned to the others to take flight. All of them did except for him, Link's captor, Salar, and the wyvern holding Lira. Link felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck and suddenly felt the world going cold and black. The last thing he felt was falling forward into Salar's arms.

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still don't own Zelda. Ask me again and see what happens!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Lira's eyes slowly opened and she awoke to the feeling of being suspended in midair. As she became further aware of her surroundings, she realized she was. She was against a wall and her arms were held above her by shackles and were chained to the ceiling of the dark room she was in. Her feet were also bound together by shackles but they were not chained to the floor. They dangled helplessly about a foot from the ground.  
  
Only now did Lira realize how lethargic her body felt as she tried to swing her legs. Her whole body felt like she had been given sedatives and her mind felt groggy like she had woken up from a hundred year repose.  
  
She heard the sound of a presumably heavy, metal door creak open, footsteps soft and even hit the floor echoing throughout the emptiness of the room, then the door slammed shut. The footsteps were approaching her and she didn't know why, but her heart was racing, beating so hard it was nearly audible to human ears. Lira didn't know what it was just yet, but she knew something bad was going to happen very soon. She could feel it in her heart and mind.  
  
A figure approached in the darkness. From the way they walked, the young dragon woman could presume that it was a male. He lit a torch and set it in a holder on the wall near her. She lifted her head to gaze at the newcomer and gasped in surprise when she recognized him.  
  
"Velnar?!"  
  
The wyvern man, the same who had been the leader of the group who had kidnapped Lira, smirked.  
  
"Lira," he said evenly.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What have you done with Link?" she demanded. Velnar raised an eyebrow. "Link? Ah, you must be referring to the Hylian boy." He shrugged. "I have done nothing to him. I left him in Salar's care," he answered with a devilish grin. She frowned darkly. "If she does anything to him, I'll never forgive you!"  
  
Velnar chuckled. "Matters not. I do not need your forgiveness, nor your trust..." he trailed off, stepping forward and cupping her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Just your blood," he whispered.  
  
Lira jerked her head away, giving him a both frightened and puzzled stare. "W-what? Why do you need my blood?" she stuttered. He laughed darkly, the sharp sounds resounding cacophonously throughout the room.  
  
"Are you really naive, or are you just playing dumb? Your blood is the only remaining key to the seal on the great demon that has been locked away up in the northern lands for these thousands of years! You are a Chosen One!"  
  
Lira shook her head in disbelief. She closed her eyes tightly. "No! It's not true!" Velnar laughed again. "You know it's true, dear Lira! You've always known!" Lira stared up at him with tears forming in her eyes. "It won't work! I won't let you release that horrible beast!"  
  
Velnar smirked. "There is nothing you can do now, Lira. Your body is too tired to transform. The drugs won't wear off for awhile. You are totally helpless to do whatever I force you to do..." He trailed off and stepped closer. Lira's eyes widened as he once more cupped her chin. He kissed her roughly then pulled back abruptly. Her eyes were filled with anger.  
  
"I hate you!" she growled.  
  
"And I love you too, Lira," he replied. He winked at her. "I suggest you get some rest, my sweet. You will need it after the major blood loss you will be suffering within a few hours. Goodbye!" He turned and left, slamming the heavy door shut after him.  
  
"Link," Lira whispered, "Please be safe..."  
  
Link slowly awoke to a foreign sweet fragrance and soft cushions beneath him. He stirred in his repose and opened his eyes. The lights were slightly dim in the room and the ceiling felt far away even though it was only about twenty feet above him. He was surrounded by small extravagantly colored pillows. Incense candles were burning all around the low bed he was laying on. They were the source of the intoxicating smell.  
  
Link rubbed his head, feeling woozy, and tried to remember what had happened. 'Yeah, that's right, I was kidnapped...' He looked around earnestly, wondering where his captor might be. His unasked question was soon answered.  
  
"Hey there, baby. I see you woke up," a silky voice that seemed remotely familiar said from the darkness. Link searched frantically for the source, who was revealed. The wyvern from before, Salar, Link remembered, crept towards him on her hands and knees. She was smirking at him, eyebrows raised suggestively. She was also very not efficiently clothed, wearing only a small piece of cloth to cover her chest and she also had panties on.  
  
Link blushed, feeling the blood rush to his nose and...other places. She crawled up to him and straddled his hips while holding him down by his shoulders. She leaned her face very close to his, close enough for him to be able to smell her breath.  
  
He was suddenly aware of his own lack of clothing. He wasn't wearing his own clothes, he was dressed in a loose pair of light blue pants and his shirt had gone missing. So here he lay, half-naked before her, and she was regarding him with an almost animalistically hungry expression.  
  
"Um..." Link began, quickly racking his brain for a staller. She pressed a single clawed, but manicured, finger to his lips. "No time for words. You're lips should be used for more conventional things, such as kissing!" she practically growled ferally.  
  
She dunked her head down to catch Link but missed when he jerked his head to the side. She attempted again, only to kiss the pillows as Link evaded her once more. She pulled back up to stare down at him smugly. "Playing hard ta get, are ya?"  
  
Link frowned. "Yeah," he replied, planting both feet against her stomach and catapulting her off. Salar crashed into the wall behind him and landed crumpled at the top of the bed on her head. Link leapt to his feet and crept cautiously to her to make sure she was unconscious. He poked her in the side and her body fell forward so she lay on her face in the pillows. Link sighed with relief. "Good, now to get outta here and find Lira," he muttered to himself.  
  
Not bothering to look for a better attire, Link grabbed his stuff that was very badly hidden in a dark corner and equipped himself. He groped the walls looking for a doorway and nearly fell onto his face on the cold floor when he pressed against a wall that rotated around to reveal a secret entrance, or exit whichever way you look at it. Instead of hitting a floor though, he slammed into the opposite wall of a narrow passageway. Link rubbed his nose and stood slowly to his feet from his slumped position.  
  
The secret passage was perhaps even more dimly lit than Salar's "Love Lounge". The hero didn't see a single torch on the walls, yet there was indeed a light emanating in the hall. Link glanced behind him to make sure there was no other path and indeed was relieved to find that he was at the beginning of it, or the end, he couldn't tell which it was.  
  
Link rubbed his forehead. His mind was a little hazy still from the incense candles but he was still quite aware of his surroundings. He pulled up his pants that were sagging around his ankles and traversed through the pathway, hoping to find Lira soon before the wyverns could do anything to her.  
  
A figure in a billowing black cloak angrily stalked down the hallways before bursting into a room and slamming the door behind himself. Firagaht was pissed, and that was a first. He grabbed one of his advisors, a short and plump aging dragon man, by the neck and brought him close to his face.  
  
"You have some explaining to do," the dragon leader growled out, spitting in the balding man's face. Too frightened to wipe it away, the advisor dangled in the air before his master in absolute terror. He had never seen Firagaht angry, and whatever it was that had enraged him, must have been serious.  
  
"A-about w-what, m-milord?" he stammered. Firagaht's eyes narrowed. "About that Tree Lurker still being in that dungeon room!" He tossed the fat old man roughly onto the floor and the advisor, almost as soon as he hit the ground, pulled himself up into a kneeling position where he bowed his head to touch the floor.  
  
"M-milord! I knew nothing!" he blubbered. Firagaht brought his foot down upon the fat man's head and rubbed his face against the ground. "You oversee what the scholars were doing and you knew nothing about it?!"  
  
The old man whimpered in pain and Firagaht lifted his foot off of the guy's head. "Your inane little experiment nearly had my fiancée killed, do you realize that?" the dragon leader's voice was softer now, holding in his fury to prevent himself from another outburst like the one he had just displayed. "I apologize, my lord!"  
  
"Apologies don't cut it," the dark haired dragon man replied. He lifted a hand and the pair of guards at the doorway came to his sides. "Take him to the dungeons and have him executed," he commanded. The guards grabbed the advisor by the arms and hauled him to his feet. "Milord! You wouldn't! Please, my lord! Have mercy!" the advisor exclaimed as they dragged him away. Firagaht watched him, void of emotion and arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"I do not show mercy."  
  
"My lord!" a young message boy called to him, dodging around the trio leaving the room. Firagaht slowly turned around to face him. The message boy was holding a large oval- shaped object wrapped up in brown cloth in his arms. He knelt before his master, holding it out to him. Firagaht took it from him and the boy remained in his kneeling position. The mature dragon man unwrapped the package and let the brown cloth fall to the floor.  
  
"Good..." he murmured as its smooth, shiny surface reflected light into his eyes. "It is finally done. This could prove useful..." He returned his attention to the young immature dragon at his feet. "Boy, I have another task for you."  
  
The boy looked up at him, his eyes wide. "Go to the village and tell Sharanan that I am leaving for a few days. While I am gone he is to appoint someone to be in charge of the village. Understand?" The boy nodded eagerly. "You are dismissed."  
  
When the boy was gone and Firagaht was alone in the room, he returned his attention to the object in his hands. He stared at his reflection in its surface and chuckled. "Who would've known that Hylian boy would be so useful?"  
  
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I just didn't feel like it. Anyway, can anyone guess what the message boy gave Firagaht? There's really no prize for guessing right and no penalty for guessing wrong, but it's fun anyway, right?  
  
Reviews, reviews, they're good for your heart, the more you get 'em, the faster you'll update! Wheee!! (Yeah, I know that didn't rhyme but I don't give a damn)  
  
-LunaRyuu 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.  
  
A/N: Wow you guys are so smart! Can't get anything passed you! Well anyway, here's chapter ten.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Link ran down the dimly lit hallway until he hit a wall, literally. He stumbled backwards, and for the second time, rubbed his nose. "What the...?" he mumbled, staring at the wall. He pressed his hands against it, wondering why it had suddenly appeared there.  
  
Pushing hard enough, though not on purpose, Link managed to slide the wall back a few feet, which revealed a set of stairs on the right. The Hero of Time peered tentatively down them, but could only see darkness. Link pulled out a Fire Arrow, sans the bow, and illuminated his path before climbing down the stairs.  
  
As he descended, the temperature began to drop, until when Link breathed, he could see his breath in white puffs before him. There was another door, this one heavy and metal, at the bottom of the stairs. Link pushed it open and winced when it made a loud squeaking noise that echoed throughout the emptiness of the large room it opened up to.  
  
Link slid the door open just a little further and squeezed through the crack he made and entered the room. His Fire Arrow created a small beacon of light around him and he was able to see a few feet ahead of himself.  
  
From what he could tell, it seemed the large chamber he had entered was a dungeon room, judging by the jail cells that lined either side of the walls. Link walked down the path in-between the cells, peering in each one curiously. Most of them were empty, while one or two of them had old skeleton bones. Link swallowed and averted his gaze. He didn't want to think about how at one point they were probably alive.  
  
At the end of the large room, there was a single large cell. Unlike the others, it was against a wall instead of to the side. Within the cell, Link could discern the shape of a person chained sitting against the wall. Link crept tentatively closer.  
  
Link pressed himself against the bars of the cage, peering in. The figure stirred and glanced up at him beneath raggedy brown bangs with large light blue eyes. Link gasped. It was a woman! She was dressed in a simple white silky dress that hung loosely on her immature frame and was barefoot. Link knelt down to be level with her, holding on to the bars to steady himself.  
  
"Hey," he said softly. "Are you alright?" The figure didn't reply but tears began to form in her eyes, which was an answer enough for Link. 'I guess not,' the hero thought. "Hold on. I'll get you out," Link assured her, searching for the cell door. He knew just by looking at this woman that she was innocent. He figured she, in wyvern years since he was pretty sure she was a wyvern judging by her tan and odd markings on her skin, was around his own age or perhaps even younger. She was much to innocent to be chained up the way she was.  
  
Finding the lock to the cell door, Link pulled out his boot dagger and picked the lock. The door swung open and he stepped in, cautiously. He knelt by her form. Her whole body was shaking with her sobs and only now did Link realize she was gagged. She peered up at him shyly, her wide eyes brimming with saline-filled tears, as he removed the gag from her mouth.  
  
"Please! You mustn't stay here!" she pleaded quietly. Link blinked in surprise while working on the chains that bound her to the wall. "What do you mean?" he asked. He freed one hand and she let it fall listlessly to her lap, probably numb from the blood being unable to reach the extremity. "They are coming for me soon! You mustn't be here or they'll hurt you!"  
  
Link paused, halfway done with her other arm and looked at her skeptically. "Who is coming for you?" The young wyvern girl took in a shaky breath. "The Dark Sect. They are coming. They are going to break the seal and release the demon!" Her eyes were filled with fear as she gazed up at him. Link squeezed the loose lock that still held her hand subconsciously.  
  
"You're... the Chosen One... of the wyverns?" he asked uneasily. She nodded and Link squeezed the lock again. "I...I have heard that the Dark Sect has already found the dragon Chosen One from the guards that usually watch over me..."  
  
Her eyes widened again in realization. "Please sir! You must leave! The guards, they will return soon and they will find you! I don't want you to be killed because of me!" Her words fell on deaf ears as Link frantically picked the final lock. Her arm fell numbly landing on Link's leg. The Hero of Time scooped her up in his arms.  
  
The wyvern girl stared at him in bewilderment. "What are you doing?!" Link kicked the door open and dashed down the hall, back the way he had come. "I'm getting you out of here! As long as they don't have you, it won't work!" Link grinned down at her.  
  
"I'm Link, by the way. What's your name?" he asked as he turned a corner down a dark hallway. He had absolutely no concept of where he was going or where he intended to head off to but he figured that as long as this girl was far from Lira, they would all be safe.  
  
"Sharai," she replied softly. "Thank you for rescuing me Sir Link." Link made a face. "Just Link. I don't like having a title before my name."  
  
Link turned down another corner and set Sharai down on her feet as they came across a pair of heavy obsidian doors. He twisted the knob to see if they were locked and was relieved when the doors made a click and opened slightly. He motioned for Sharai to follow him in and he closed the door behind himself.  
  
They entered a small dark room that was seemingly empty except for a dark...something in the very back. Link leaned against the wall, breathing heavily after having run this far from the dungeons and carrying the young wyvern girl. She didn't look it, but she was pretty heavy for such a petite frame.  
  
He was totally oblivious to Sharai gaping at the back of the small chamber at that dark something until she tugged on his arm and pointed. Link raised an eyebrow at the fear he could _feel _radiating off of her and looked in the direction she had been pointing in. He gasped, then cursed softly under his breath.  
  
"_Lira_," he breathed and her gaze lifted to him. She was chained to the wall, held up by her arms. She was not dressed in the clothing she had arrived here in, but in similar garments to what Sharai wore. Something flickered in her eyes for a very brief moment before her face lifted slightly in a small smile.  
  
"Link! You're alright! Please, get me down." Link hurried over to her, Sharai suddenly becoming shy and staying by the door. Her actions went unnoticed by the young Hylian as he quickly picked the simple lock that held the dragon woman up on the wall.  
  
He heard an audible click and she fell laggardly into his arms. He sat on the floor with her, wondering vaguely why she could barely hold herself up. Link's eyes widened. Had they already taken her blood?  
  
"Lira-" Link began but was cut off by her speaking.  
  
"Link... did that woman... did she...?" Link blinked at her puzzledly. What woman? He glanced back at Sharai who was looking nervously at the both of them before Link returned his gaze back to the azure haired woman. "What woman? And did she what?" Link urged.  
  
Lira blushed and averted her gaze. "Nevermind. It isn't... important," she replied, in an almost clipped tone. Even more confused, Link scratched the back of his head but shook the conversation away, knowing that there were more pressing matters at hand.  
  
"Lira, you're so sluggish. Did they already take your blood?" Lira shook her head. "No. Velnar must have drugged me. I can barely move without feeling immensely tired and I cannot find the strength to transform into my dragon form." She gave him a small sad smile. "It looks like my life is all in your hands, Link."  
  
Link lowered his head so his bangs hung over his face, hiding his expression. He hoped Lira hadn't noticed the slight fear that had flitted across his visage for a brief moment. He didn't think he was capable of protecting Lira from those wyverns. He hoped that if he was unable to protect her, that she would not be angry with him and never forgive him. He quickly changed the subject.  
  
"Lira, have you seen Velnar?" Link asked. Lira nodded. "Yes. He came not too long ago. But..." she paused, "I think I may have passed out a while back, so it could have been quite a while ago." She glanced sheepishly up at him. Link was frowning, but not at her.  
  
He stood, helping Lira up, who was forced to lean upon him. "We've gotta get outta here, and fast. Having both of you in the same room is _not _a good idea at the moment," he said. He hobbled with her to the door where Sharai was waiting. She was wringing her hands nervously.  
  
"Lira, this is Sharai. Sharai, Lira," Link introduced quickly. They nodded to each other. "Sharai's the Chosen One of the wyverns," he explained to Lira. She gasped. "Oh no! They've already found you!" Lira moaned. Sharai nodded. "I came with them because they threatened to kill my family," a few tears came to her eyes, but she wiped them away. "We mustn't let them find us together!"  
  
"I'm afraid, it's too late now," a deep masculine voice from behind them stated. They all whirled around to see Velnar himself leaning against the open door frame, over twenty guards behind him in the hallway. The two girls gasped and Link tightened his grip on Lira and pulled Sharai behind him.  
  
"I'm not going down without a fight!"  
  
Velnar raised an eyebrow then lifted the corner of his lip in a snarl. He pushed off from the door frame to stand at his full height, which happened to be taller than Link. The Hero of Time unsheathed his Gilded Sword. He wasn't backing down out of this. He'd protect them with his life.  
  
"What a nuisance you are!" The wyvern leader motioned for the guards to stand back. He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine. I'll take your challenge, _boy_." Link growled.  
  
Velnar extended his arms out on either side of himself. Link took a step back, wondering what he was doing. The walls and ceiling were encased in a dark violet aura. They pushed outwards, extending the size of the room by a hundred fold. Link watched in slight fascination, but kept his eye on the wyvern man.  
  
Velnar chuckled. "If we are to have a battle, I suppose we would need more room, no?" His short silver locks began to flitter in the wake of the energy that was emanating off of his form. His eyes became white and he bared his sharp bangs as his body was surrounded by a deep crimson and ebony aura.  
  
A growl erupted deep from his throat as he transfigured into his wyvern form, towering over Link and glaring down at him with his ugly beady red eyes. "Lira, Sharai, get back!" Link commanded to the girls, his eyes never leaving Velnar's vile form. Wyvern Velnar emitted a horrible screech, signifying the start of the battle.

------------------------

Nine more days of school, then three days of exams and I'm _done_! Oh yeah!  
  
-LunaRyuu


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Nope. Sigh. The Legend of Zelda still does not belong to me. I've been emailing and sending letters to Shigeru Miyamoto, but oddly he hasn't been replying.  
  
A/N: I'm sorry if I may disappoint with this fight scene. I'm not very good at it. I'll try my best though. Anyway here's the chapter!  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Link backflipped out of the way as Velnar's thick wormy tail slammed into the ground where he had previously been standing. The floor tiles were crushed upon impact.  
  
Link noticed then that Velnar looked a lot different from the other wyverns he had come across. Unlike the previous ones, Wyvern Velnar had arms and legs, all adorned with vicious thick gray claws. His head was large and shaped similar to that of a dragon, with horns pointing straight upwards and slanted back just slightly. His eyes were large and green, unlike the traditional beady black eyes of a wyvern. His body was at least twice the size of a normal wyvern. Link narrowed his eyes, sidestepping another swipe of the tail. In fact, he resembled what a hybrid between a dragon and a wyvern would look like!  
  
Velnar took in a deep breath and spat out a beam of ice, freezing all in its path and nearly encasing Link in a block of ice if he hadn't dodged out of the way. He heard a scream from behind and jerked his head to look and see, Lira's name on the tip of his lips.  
  
Unfortunately, it was as if the distraction had been planned, as Link felt Velnar's claws rip through his skin. Pain washed throughout Link's body as he was flung to the side like a rag doll. He could feel the deep lacerations that started at his thigh and worked their way up to his shoulder blade. The moisture in his clothes and his quickly fogging senses told him that he was bleeding profusely.  
  
Link groaned in absolute agony, feeling his world quickly slipping away. All he could think about was how he had wished he had been stronger so he could protect those who needed him. His eyelids became heavy and his grip on his sword was dwindling. "Lira...Zelda...I'm sorry..." he whispered. He closed his eyes.  
  
A warm sensation washed over Link's body and he felt all the pain become alleviated. He smiled to himself, eyes still shut, wondering if this was what it was like to die. He had at least hoped he would go out in a spectacular big...bang?  
  
The roar of frustration from a wyvern puzzled Link greatly. He felt tremors in the ground as something big approached him. Huh? Wasn't he dead? Why did he still hear that stupid wyvern?  
  
Link's eyes flew open in sudden realization and he leapt to his feet and dove to the side just as another beam, this time fire, melted away at the ground from where he had just been. He breathed in and out hard and stared up at Velnar, who if he had been in human form, was regarding him with a furious expression.  
  
The confused Hero of Time felt his body all over for any of the previous injuries, but found none. He didn't even feel a sting when he pressed his fingers against his chest. Indeed he was healed and..._alive_!  
  
"How..?" he began.  
  
"Link! Fight without any fear of being injured! I will heal you!" he heard Sharai's voice from behind him. Link smirked and nodded in understanding, eyes never leaving the wyvern before him. Velnar snorted, puffs of air emitting from his nostrils. He pulled back his lips to reveal sharp teeth just aching to rip into Link's flesh.  
  
Link growled under his breath. "I won't get distracted this time. You're going down Velnar!" he shouted. He dashed at the wyvern and rolled in- between his legs just when Velnar breathed fire at him. Link grabbed onto his tail as it came swinging his way and climbed onto Velnar's back.  
  
The wyvern screeched in protest and tried to buck him off, but Link held on tightly to the rough texture of his back. Holding the Gilded Sword with the tip pointed downwards, Link plunged it deeply into his skin, until only a few inches of the blade were visible.  
  
In a frenzy of fury and pain, Velnar twisted his body about in an attempt to dislodge Link's sword and Link himself from his back. Determined, and now with a good holding, Link stayed on and managed to twist the blade, as a literal demonstration of stabbing one in the back and twisting the knife.  
  
Blood seeped out of the wound, making the surface beneath Link's feet slippery and causing his feet to slide out from underneath him. Through the haze of pain, Velnar managed to reach a clawed hand back and grip Link's tiny frame in his colossal palm. With no footing, Link was unable to battle him off at the moment and the wyvern succeeded in wrenching Link off his back, the bloodied sword coming with him. Link was tossed a great distance away.  
  
He landed on his back and cascaded across the floor a few feet. The hero rubbed his head and flipped quickly to his feet as another beam of fire raced its way towards him. Instinct told him to reflect it with his Mirror Shield while common sense told him, there was no Mirror Shield anymore.  
  
This internal conflict within him was all it took for the flames to reach him before he was entirely ready, and though he dodged without being scorched alive, he was grazed by the attack and found his skin and tunic burning to a nice crisp. The screams of pain were barely out of his throat before a green light surrounded him and the pain was instantly gone. He cursed quietly to himself over his carelessness.  
  
He heard another scream and was horrified when he saw that the wyvern guards had grabbed Lira and Sharai. Obviously the wyvern girl had managed to get out a healing spell just before the guards seized her.  
  
"Damnit!" Link exclaimed. His gaze flicked to Velnar who's attention was solely on him, then turned his gaze to the two captured women. "Velnar will have to wait," he murmured, while making a mad dash for them. At his distance, he could see the fear in their eyes as they were shackled and tied up by Velnar's men. Link's eyes narrowed in anger when one of the men struck Lira across the face.  
  
Adrenaline rushed through Link's veins and he found himself running even faster towards them. Only a few more feet and he'd reach them...why wasn't he being attacked by Velnar anyway? His mind briefly wandered to that subject but then he saw a flicker in the atmosphere as an energy force field erected (A/N: I hate that word. lol.) itself around the guards and Lira and Sharai.  
  
Link skidded to a stop and pressed his hands against it. He felt a brief moment of dé ja vu, remembering when he was helpless to stop Ganondorf from kidnapping Zelda back then. He pounded his fists against the barrier then glanced back at the wyvern leader whom he had been previously fighting.  
  
He was surprised to see the young man form of the wyvern instead of the beast form, standing near the doorway, panting heavily. Did this mean the battle was over? Link growled. Had the battle been nothing but a distraction to get him away from the Chosen Ones?  
  
Link drew his sword again, now fully facing Velnar. "This battle isn't over!" he declared. The wyvern man's eyes raised to be level with Link. A smirk came to his lips and he stood to his full height. "On the contrary, Hylian, _our _battle is over. But the war has only just begun!"  
  
Link quirked an eyebrow in slight confusion and felt a sudden wave of energy from behind him. He whirled around, only to find that the guards and the girls were all gone! Link's eyes widened in horror and he turned back around to face Velnar who was laughing maniacally.  
  
"Fool! Did you really think you could foil my plans, boy?! You are just a nuisance. I _will _have my wish!" After this exclamation, he dashed out of the room, closing the doors behind him, leaving Link a bit dazed.  
  
"Wish?" Link repeated. What wish was he talking about? The hero shook away the questions, knowing that time was of the essence. He ran after him and was nearly at the door when they burst open with an explosion, flinging Link back. He jumped back to his feet, sword in hand and ready for more combat, when he realized who it was.  
  
Link lowered his blade as Firagaht stepped into the room, his boots crunching on the debris, flanked by two silver haired dragon men. Link blinked, surprised to see the dragon leader here and vaguely wondered who the other two were. For once, Link was glad to see him.  
  
Firagaht's gaze wandered all over the room from the black aura-covered walls and ceiling to the dilapidated floors, before finally resting it upon Link. He narrowed his golden eyes.  
  
"Where is Lira?" he demanded, voice cold and calm as usual. Link sheathed his sword and ran his hand through his hair. "You arrived just a few seconds too late. She's gone, along with the other Chosen One. Velnar took them!"  
  
Firagaht visibly flinched as soon as Link mentioned the wyvern leader's name. "Velnar?" he repeated. He turned to the others. "Let's go."  
  
Link took a step forward. "Wait...!"  
  
Firagaht turned back to him, reaching into his cape to pull out a glimmering red object and tossed it to the Hero of Time. Surprised, Link caught it and looked it over. He gasped when he realized what it was. "My Mirror Shield. But..._how_...?"  
  
"I no longer have any use for it. It served quite useful for infiltrating the wyvern's territory. I suppose you will need it more than I now," Firagaht said. He turned back around and walked towards the door. The two silver haired men followed. One of them turned to face Link and smirked.  
  
"You can come along too, kid. You obviously can hold your own if you've made it this far in the territory," he said. Link frowned slightly at being called a kid but nodded, following them out the door.  
  
-----------------

Did the fighting scene suck? I hope it didn't. I got the hang of it while I was writing it. Hope you liked the chapter.  
  
Yay! Link has his Mirror Shield back! I loved that thing in the game. When you first get it and Link's levitating it above his head, the front of the shield, the part that reflects, is glowing this beautiful shimmering sapphire color. I think I was staring at it for five minutes before I finally pressed A.  
  
Oh and for anyone who reads my Bounty Hunter Chronicles fic, bet you can guess who the two silver haired guys are! And if you don't read that fic, go read it! Pleassseee!! [Puppy dog eyes]  
  
-LunaRyuu


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Velnar watched with hardly contained excitement as both Chosen Ones were being prepared for the ceremony. They were tied to a wooden pole with their hands bound at the wrists above their heads and their feet bound at the ankles. Two heavily-armed guards were stationed at each girl, one on each side, making interference in the ritual only a wanton dream.  
  
They were all before an ornate altar, adorned with exotic flowers, fancy goblets, and small shallow bowls. There was a valuable-looking dagger placed in the center of the altar. The blade was shiny and almost crystalline and the handle was decorated with jewels.  
  
On either side of the dagger, were small indentations in the stone altar. Their purpose were for containing the spilled blood of the Chosen Ones while a spell was cast to break the seal on the thousands of years old demon. The seal that was on the back wall of the temple they were currently in.  
  
The temple was quite dilapidated: sunshine poured in through holes in the ceiling, pillars were crushed and strewn across the floors, and the stone floors were broken and deteriorated due to the rainfall that entered through the almost useless ceiling. Cobwebs were all over the place, as the temple had not been used for years. Small animals had made their homes in this once sacred place.  
  
Velnar took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself. He turned around as he sensed the arrival of the priests that were to perform the ritual. A smirk formed upon his lips and he decided to check on Lira.  
  
As he approached her, he could see her tense up, aware of his presence. He cupped her chin and forced her head up to look at him. Her eyes were filled with hatred and anger, along with well-masked fear.  
  
"Soon, my dear, you will not have to be subject to such harsh treatment. Soon you will be my woman, and you will have everything you ever dreamed of," he whispered to her.  
  
"Sooner you would burn in hell!" she whispered fiercely in reply to him.  
  
He chuckled. "Defiant as I always remembered you to be," he murmured, nestling against her neck. She cringed and stiffened. Tears began to form in her eyes and they slid down her cheeks.  
  
"But _you _have changed. Why?" Lira's voice came out shaky and thick with despair. Velnar pulled back and looked her in the face. "Because the Velnar _you _used to know is dead," he replied.  
  
Lira shook her head, azure strands of long hair flicking the wyvern leader in the face. "No!" she sobbed. Velnar stroked her cheek fondly with his rough thumb. "And soon, my love, you will get to know this new Velnar better. And you will learn to love him, as he will love you..." he whispered intimately, leaning closer, intending on kissing her.  
  
"Firagaht will come," she said determinedly. The wyvern man jerked his head back sharply, glaring daggers at the young woman before him. "Yes, he will come. And you will _watch _me as I brutally murder him before your very eyes!" he growled. His grip on her face became suddenly painful and she whimpered softly.  
  
He pulled away furious because of the mention of Firagaht, and even angrier at himself for hurting Lira. Velnar turned to the priests and motioned for them to begin. He would have his wish and Lira all to himself only in a matter of hours now.  
  
---------------  
  
Link was bringing up the rear as Firagaht and the two silver-haired men, whom were now identified as Shizuka and Kairi, ran ahead of him. He was still amazed that he had his Mirror Shield back, and could only assume that Firagaht had gotten it fixed for him. He figured the dragon lord had gotten a hold of a piece of the shattered shield and somehow had it remade. It certainly felt stronger, and Link figured it must be since Firagaht had used it to get in here. Perhaps it had been imbued with more power.  
  
The hero decided if he got out of all of this alive, he would thank the arrogant dragon leader. Link had a sudden thought that Firagaht most likely did not have the shield remade for _him_, but for himself to use. Link frowned at this thought and figured it to probably be the truth.  
  
As they rounded a corner, Link had a sudden bad feeling that Firagaht didn't know entirely what was going on, and he felt it was in his duty to inform him, since, of course, Lira's life was on the line here...and Sharai too. He had nearly forgotten about her.  
  
"Firagaht...sama!"  
  
The leader didn't slow down and showed virtually no signs of having heard Link, and Link was sure he had. Annoyed, Link was about to call out to him again, when the group stopped, having reached the outside of the castle that Velnar resided in. Link approached the leader and he turned around to face the Hylian.  
  
"Firagaht-sama, I don't think you know entirely everything that is going on here," Link began. He narrowed his eyes at the blond. "You mentioned Chosen Ones, did you not?" he inquired. Link's blue eyes widened briefly and he nodded. "Then that is all I need to know."  
  
Firagaht closed his eyes and turned back around. Link noticed him clenching his fist. "She...is a Chosen One, isn't she?" he asked quietly. "Yeah," Link answered. "Velnar," fist tightened noticeably, "is using her and the other Chosen One to unseal the demon."  
  
Kairi growled. "If that bastard lays a single hand on my little cousin, I swear I'll rip him apart limb by limb!" he snarled. "Cousin?" Link repeated in surprise. "We are perhaps her only living relatives other than Sharanan," Shizuka informed.  
  
Another growl sounded, but this time it was Firagaht. "Enough talk! We head for the northern lands now!" he commanded. He transformed into a dragon and flew off into the sky. Kairi turned to Link. "You can ride on my back kid. If you're comin' anyway," he offered. Link nodded vigorously. "I'm coming!"  
  
So they set off for the northern lands, hoping to be able to infiltrate the temple and save Lira before Velnar set the demon free.  
  
-----------------  
  
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've been feeling really lazy lately. If you're curious and you want a bio on Shizuka and Kairi, who are twins by the way, then check out the 1st chapter of my fic Bounty Hunter Chronicles. And while you're over there, why don't you read it and leave a review? I'd appreciate it. It's not a bad story either. It's fun to write.  
  
Don't forget to leave a review for this story too! I love reviews! They're so cute and pretty! Don't ask how so because I can't give you a straight answer. Also, if you feel the urge to flame me, go ahead! I'll see if I can take it. And if I can't, I'll send my ninja dragons to hunt down!   
  
-LunaRyuu 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.

A/N: I haven't updated in a while because Aol became screwy and decided to shut down

the whole account because we were accused of "advertising" in the email or some other

crap like that. Plus I have been utterly uninspired to write altogether. So I'm gonna try to

get back on track before school starts for me.

Chapter 13

The wind blew through Link's golden hair as he rode upon the back of the young mature

dragon Kairi. In dragon form, Kairi was a pristine white with large light blue eyes. His

horns were straight and slanted to almost rest on the top of his head. His brother Shizuka,

who was flying at their side was a black dragon with green eyes. His horns were curved

like half circles and slanted against his head as well.

Link gazed at the looming horizon ahead of him with an uneasy feeling in his gut. The

sun was beginning to set and the temple where the demon had been sealed and Lira was

sure to be was still not in sight. He hoped he got there in time, before the demon was

released. Who knew what would happen then. Would they be able to defeat it?

Link sighed wearily, then jumped when he heard the rumbling of his current transport in

what he assumed was laughter. "What's the matter, kid? I can feel your worry comin' off

of ya like waves!" Kairi's voice spoke to him, deeper and gruffer than normal, obviously

due to his large size.

Link rubbed his temples. "Sorry. It's just that....I'm worried about Lira...and Sharai, the

other Chosen One. What if we don't make it there in time?" Kairi chuckled. "Hey man,

don't get so worked up about not making it there in time. Even if Velnar releases the

demon, we know that he's not gonna hurt Lira," he replied. Link tilted his head to the

side. "How do you know that?"

"Because he's in love with her," Shizuka answered simply. Link gasped and turned to

stare at the other dragon. "Velnar is in love with Lira?!" he repeated.

Up ahead a loud cry of anger resounded through the valley they were flying over as

Firagaht let them know he had heard what they said and wasn't very happy about it.

Every inch of his large dark blue body was tense with fury. His golden eyes were

narrowed and filled with absolute anger. All animal life below them seemed to cower in

fear and hide as he flew over them.

Kairi continued, "Velnar and Firagaht used to be friends when they were younger.

Despite the fact that they were of races that currently hated each other. When Lira

appeared in their lives, Velnar immediately fell in love with her. But when it was

announced that Lira was betrothed to Firagaht, Velnar became extremely jealous and the

two of them ceased to be friends after a huge argument that left both of them badly

wounded.

"It is strictly forbidden for wyverns and dragons to mate together. It was done in the past

and many dragons and wyverns died because of it. It is still not quite known why, but we

know that our races are incompatible. Because of this, Velnar began to experiment on his

body to gain the biological structure of a dragon. He hoped that if he became of Lira's

race she would become his, because it was known by all that Lira was not in love with

Firagaht."

Another howl of anger and the dragon leader breathed a wave of fire across the grassland

beneath them, scorching it past recognition. Link stared in amazement. He had never

seen the dragon leader so enraged. Of course he hadn't known him for that long, but the

man had never seemed the type to become so angry. Link shuddered, hoping Firagaht

wouldn't ever direct that anger toward him!

"This demon that Velnar is trying to awaken is actually not a threat itself anymore," Kairi

said. "What do you mean?" Link asked. "The demon as well as it's power has been

sealed. Before the demon was put away, it's power was sealed so even if it was released it

would be unable to wreak havoc. It would need to work through a vessel," Shizuka

supplied.

Link frowned, thinking back to when Velnar had taken Lira away after their brief battle.

"Velnar...was saying something about a wish...What did he mean by a wish?" "Simple.

When the demon is released, it will grant a wish to the one who freed it. Any wish that is

within the boundaries of its power of course," Kairi answered. "Any...wish," Link

murmured to himself.

"The past often repeats itself. And judging by what's going on now, I am sure that Velnar

intends to use his wish to lose his wyvern blood and become a dragon," Shizuka said

solemnly. "I can't believe he's going through all this trouble just for Lira! He must really

be obsessed with her!" his twin brother exclaimed. "All the more reason why we must

rescue Lira soon," Link said determinedly.

Link closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that the Chosen Ones were ok. When he

reopened them he saw a large dilapidated temple was sitting in the center of a lush garden

in the distance. "That must be the temple where Velnar is!" Link exclaimed. "Yep! Hold

on tight, we're preparing to land!" Kairi warned him.

Safely on the ground, Link leapt off of Kairi's back just as the three dragons transformed

into their human forms. Link kept a hand on his sword. "I feel an immense power

coming from inside. It must be the demon," he said. Kairi glanced over at him in

surprise, but his brother beat him to speaking. "Impossible. The seal completely covers

all signs of the beast!" Shizuka said.

The twins exchanged glances. "Then it has already begun," Firagaht said from a few feet

ahead of them. "Let us not waste anymore time chatting."

--------------------

The wyvern priest approached Lira, holding the ritual dagger in his hands. An acolyte at

his side held the bowl that would contain her blood. Lira pursed her lips then glanced

over at Sharai who was already giving of her blood. The other priest had sliced her side

and held the bowl beneath the cut to catch the droplets that escaped. Her head was

hanging limply forward, she apparently had passed out. Lira bit her lip.

Her attention was jerked back to the priests who were tending to her as she felt the one

with the knife massage the skin upon her neck then bring the knife to rest coldly upon her

skin. She closed her eyes and held her breath, awaiting the moment of sharp pain and the

feeling of her life fluid trickling down her neck.

"Stop!" came Velnar's voice. Lira opened her eyes as the wyvern leader approached

them. "I will not have you scarring the perfect skin upon her delicate neck. She will

bleed too much there. Make a small incision in her wrist," he commanded. The priests

obeyed and the one with the knife took her right wrist in his hand and held the blade over

it.

Tears streamed down Lira's cheeks as she gazed at her former friend. "Velnar, please!

Don't do this! You don't know what the outcome of all of this will be! You do not know

for sure it will be as perfect as you hope it to! Please!" she pleaded with him.

Velnar lowered his head so his bangs covered his face. He could not bear to watch as the

priest sliced her wrist and her crimson blood flowed onto her hand and into the shallow

bowl. He flinched when he heard her soft cry of pain and clenched his fist at his side,

telling himself that after all of this was over, Lira would never be harmed again.

"Lord Velnar, we have enough blood from both Chosen Ones now. It is time," the priest

told him. Velnar lifted his head and nodded. "Begin the ceremony," he commanded.

The acolytes poured the blood into the indentions in the altar then held their hands

together in prayer. The priests stood on either side of the altar and raised their hands in

the air, chanting a spell. The blood began to slosh in their holders and glow a soft pink.

Velnar turned to Lira, who's wrist had been healed by the acolyte. He motioned for the

guards that were on either side of both Chosen Ones to take positions at the door. He

reached for the ties that held Lira and undid them, letting her fall into his arms. He

embraced her tightly and buried his face in her long azure tresses. Lira, too weak to

resist, allowed him to hug her. A single tear streamed down her cheek. "Soon, Lira.

Soon...." he whispered.

Two wyvern guards barged into the temple doors, shouting for Velnar's attention. The

wyvern leader glared back at them. "My lord! Firagaht has arrived, along with two

dragons and that Hylian boy we captured earlier!" one of them informed him. Velnar

cursed. "Send all troops to hinder his entrance. The ritual must not be stopped!" The

wyvern subordinates nodded. "Yessir!"

He felt Lira tense in his embrace and frowned. "He has come for me." Lira lifted her

head to stare into Velnar's face. "Please, let me go! What you wish for will not happen!"

Velnar pulled her back to bury her face against his chest. "It will happen. I will make it

happen."

-------------------

Back outside, The three dragons and Link watched as over a hundred wyvern guards

filled the courtyard of the temple before them. "Damn!" Kairi cursed. Link glanced at

him out of the corner of his eye. "We're surrounded!"

Indeed, there were guards on all sides of them, without a single route for escape. "There

is no time. Kairi and I will handle this. You two go on ahead!" Shizuka said. "Wha?!"

Link began but was cut off as Kairi shoved him into Firagaht, who in turn grabbed him

and charged towards the entrance, straight towards the heavily armored guards. Link,

who was suspended in the air by the waist, could only close his eyes as the distance

between them quickly became less and less.

Hearing the sound of grunts of pain and metal clashing with rock, Link reopened his eyes

to find that a path to the entrance was being cleared by the dragon twins. As the entrance

was in sight Firagaht leapt clear over the last few guards and landed within the temple.

The doors closed behind them via Kairi and Link could hear the sounds of battle as the

twins seemed to be fighting them off. Link let out a breath of relief just as Firagaht

dropped him without any warning.

"Oww!" Link muttered, slowly climbing to his feet. He rubbed his chin and glared at the

dragon leader who was doing an amazing job of ignoring him. Firagaht glanced around

the large room which seemed to be an entrance hall. Moonlight poured in to the

otherwise dark room through holes in the ceiling. He walked forward, then froze upon

hearing something. Link heard it too.

"I hear...voices coming from the next room. And...I feel an immensely powerful and

malevolent presence radiating from ahead. The seal must nearly be broken!" Link said.

He held his stomach and grunted. "That presence...is so evil! I can feel my energy just

seeping out of my body!"

"Do you wish to go home then?" Link blinked in surprise at Firagaht who was glancing

at him over his shoulder. Link growled. "No! I couldn't protect Lira before and I wish to

save her!" Firagaht faced the doorway to the next room. "Hmph."

Link watched him, wondering why he wasn't proceeding when he had been the one who

had rushed them here. Firagaht turned now to face the Hylian, and Link was hit with the

full brunt of his scrutinizing glare. The blonde man gulped.

"Can I trust you, boy?" the dark haired dragon asked suddenly. Taken aback, Link didn't

reply right away. Firagaht narrowed his eyes. "Y-yes! Of course!" Link answered. The

leader now crossed his arms over his chest. "Can I rely upon you?" Link stared at him

wearily, wondering why he would ask such a question so suddenly and at a time like this.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, you can," he replied more confidently than the first answer.

Firagaht nodded as well. "Good. Then I want you to take Lira and get as far away from

here as you can. Do you understand me?" Link's eyes widened, but he nodded once

more. "Alright."

Firagaht turned his back on Link and headed for the doors, Link followed. He pushed the

doors opened and stepped inside the room. Velnar as well as the four guards by the doors

all stared at him. "Firagaht," Velnar began condescendingly, "It is so nice to see you after

all these years." The dragon leader narrowed his eyes, angered by the fact that he was

holding Lira in his arms, and drew his scythe and took a step forward. All four wyvern

guards stood in-between him and his destination.

"You will not get through dragon!" the guards declared. Link reached for his sword, but

it was too late. In one fell swoop, all four guards fell dead upon the floor. Firagaht's

scythe now dripped with their blood. He lifted the corner of his mouth in a sneer and

stepped upon their corpses and towards Velnar. The wyvern leader was unaffected by

this whole exchange. Link was a little more considerate for the dead and stepped over

their bodies.

Lira lifted her head and gasped, her crimson eyes widening. "Link! Firagaht!" she

exclaimed. Velnar growled. "I see you're the same as ever, Firagaht. Never one to waste

time."

"I don't care about your damn wish. Return Lira to me at once!" Firagaht snarled. Velnar

threw his head back and laughed. "I will not return something that never belonged to you,

my dear friend!"

"My lord!" exclaimed the priest. "My lord, the seal!"

Everyone's attention turned to the large emblem upon the wall. It was glowing a dark red

and the silhouette of a great beast could be seen, flashing along with the emblem. Wisps

of air were spewing out of the corners of the seal and a red light from behind it shone

through and outlined it.

Lira gasped as Velnar laughed maniacally. "Yes! At last! The seal has been broken!

The demon is free! Hahahahahaha!!" Firagaht narrowed his eyes and prepared to charge

at the wyvern's back, when a bright light was emitted from the wall, blinding everyone in

the room.

When the light finally dimmed, everyone stared in astonishment at what stood before

them. Link's mouth dropped open in surprise. When he had heard about a demon being

sealed here, he had expected some huge monstrosity with more claws and teeth than he

could count. But here, stood what looked nothing more than a young man. His long

silver hair reached down to his knees and his eyes glowed a strange red. He wore nothing

to cover his golden skin and there were strange markings upon his arms and chest.

He stepped forward and everyone held their breath, waiting for him to do something. The

"demon's" gaze shifted from each person in the room until it finally rested upon Velnar.

"Was it you who freed me?" he asked, his voice deep and smooth. Velnar smiled. "Yes.

It was I!"

The demon nodded. "Alright. Then state your wish." Velnar released Lira and stepped

toward the demon. "I wish to become the most powerful dragon in existence!" the

wyvern man bellowed. His voice echoed throughout the temple.

"As you wish." The demon lifted a hand toward Velnar and his fingertips began to glow

a golden color. Soon his entire body began to glow white. He was consumed by the light

and became a white orb that slowly floated toward Velnar. The wyvern leader held out

his hands, preparing to welcome him. The orb became a beam that shot straight into his

body. When the demon had been totally absorbed, Velnar himself began to glow an

ominous ebony.

Lira took a step back and gasped as the walls of the temple began to rumble. Small

pebbles came loose and fell to the floors, rattling as the entire temple seemed to quake

from Velnar's newfound power.

"Link!" Firagaht exclaimed. Link nodded in understanding and grabbed Lira. "Come

on!" Link said, pulling her with him. "Wha-what about Sharai?" she protested. "Got

her!" Kairi's voice sounded. They turned quickly to see the blue eyed twin holding the

young limp wyvern girl in his arms. They rushed out of the temple, Velnar following

their every move.

He made a motion to go after them but Firagaht stood in his way. "This is where it all

ends, Velnar," Firagaht said. He raised his scythe and pointed the blade at him. "I will

kill you where you stand and you will no longer need to suffer."

Velnar smirked. The corners of his lips lifted, revealing his sharp white canines. He was

hunched forward, with his arms dangling at his sides. His nails had grown to around six

inches and were viciously sharp. "Really, Firagaht? I believe it is your time to go," he

countered, his voice deeper and demonic sounding. "Now, with this body, I can finally

make Lira mine. All that is in my way, is you!"

Firagaht bared his teeth. "Shut up!" They charged at each other and clashed. When their

energies collided, the entire temple began to crumble more vigorously around them. This

marked the beginning of a battle in which only one of them would walk away alive.

--------------------

Wow, pretty long chappie but I suppose since I haven't updated in awhile, you guys

deserve it. It seems it's really close to the end doesn't it? Well, that's cuz it is! Hahaha!

I'm thinking of a sequel. What do you guys think?

-LunaRyuu


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in ages. I am _so_ lazy!! So I give you a nice long chapter! Yay!! Watch out, there's a bit of blood and gore in this chapter.

Chapter 14

Link and Lira ran alongside each other, breathlessly, with Link carrying Sharai carefully in his arms. Kairi and Shizuka were bounding from tree to tree above them and keeping a close watch on the three of them.

They breached the forest barriers and stood in a large, open field that stretched for miles until it ended at the edge of a mountain range. Link gently set Sharai down and then bent over, resting his hands on his knees, breathing hard. Lira rubbed her arms from the chilly breeze that blew by them. The loose white garment she wore provided her no protection from the elements.

Kairi landed in front of the three, his arms crossed over his chest, while Shizuka landed behind them. "We can't stop here, they'll find us. We need to keep moving," Kairi said hauling Link back to his feet who had plopped himself onto the ground in exhaustion. "We've been running for the past hour with nearly no breaks!" Link snapped between heaving breaths. "Why can't we fly on one of your backs?"

Shizuka shook his head, now standing beside Lira and the newly awakened Sharai. "No. They will see us in the air. It is best to travel by ground," he replied.

Link frowned. Lira squeezed his arm and smiled at him. "It's alright, Link. I'm sure you can make it to the mountain range. Once we're there, we'll be reasonably safe," she assured gently. Link gazed into her face briefly, before an idea popped into his mind. "Why don't we create a decoy!" he exclaimed, suddenly excited.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What for?" Link turned to him. "It can buy us some time and we can get further away from here!" Shizuka stepped forward. "Go on." Link grinned. "One of you become a dragon and place a decoy Lira on your back and take to the skies. The wyverns will chase you and the real Lira can get away on the other dragon!"

"What about me?" Sharai asked quietly. Link turned to her blinking, having nearly forgotten she was there. He scratched the back of his head. "Well.... there's no need to make a decoy of you because it's Lira Velnar wants now," he answered. She nodded submissively.

Kairi rubbed his chin. "Sounds like a reasonably good plan. But where are we gonna get this decoy?" he questioned. Link thought for a moment. His gaze flitted from the forest to Lira, the forest, Lira. Link snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

Link ran over to a tree and climbed up its trunk. He began gathering the large thick leaves from the top while the three dragons and Sharai watched curiously from the ground. Link quickly descended and came back over, carrying the bundle of leaves in his arms.

"Here! We'll stuff these in Lira's dress! That way it'll smell like her because she was wearing it!" Lira blushed. "Then...what will _I_ wear?" she asked. Kairi nodded. "Yeah! You don't expect her to travel naked, do you?" he demanded. Link blushed a deep red, briefly imagining this. He quickly shook his head. "No! Of course not! She can...she can, uh..."

Link glanced frantically about, searching for an answer. When he glanced down at himself, he grinned, finally finding the solution. "She can wear one of my tunics!" The twins shrugged. "Here, let me get one out," Link murmured.

Shizuka took the bundle of leaves from him as the blond hero searched through his bag for his tunics. He glanced up at Lira for a moment, then pulled out the Zora tunic. "This would look better on you than the Goron tunic," Link said, mostly to himself, as he handed over the article of clothing.

"Hurry up and change Lira. I'm sure those wyverns are practically breathing down our necks by now," Kairi said, glancing over his shoulder back toward the temple they had escaped from. Lira nodded. "Ok," she replied. She hurried into the cover of the trees and returned moments later carrying the white dress and wearing the tunic.

"Not bad!" Kairi said, taking the white dress from her. He brought it up to his face and inhaled deeply. Lira blushed. "W-what are you doing?! she exclaimed. "I'm making sure your scent is still strong on the dress, stupid," he replied, rolling his eyes.

Shizuka stepped forward. "Let's hurry up and stuff the dress then get going," he said. The others nodded and moments later the dress was stuffed with the leaves and made to be shaped to resemble Lira, _remotely_.

Lira stood with her hands on her hips, staring skeptically at the dummy of her. "Do I _really_ look like that?" she asked. Link grinned. "Shut-up! It's the best I could do so quit complaining!" Kairi growled back. Lira giggled behind her hand and Link quickly changed the subject.

"So which one of you's gonna be the diversion?" he asked, looking between the two of them. "I will," Kairi volunteered. The blue-eyed twin then turned to Link. "You go with Lira, my brother, and the wyvern girl," he said. Link's eyes widened but he nodded. "Alright."

Kairi's body glowed a soft blue as he began his transformation. "Godspeed," the dragon said before completing the transfiguration. Placing the decoy on his back, he took to the skies, flapping his massive wings. Not long after he was in the air, did the wyverns appear, chasing after him.

"It's working!" Link exclaimed. As soon as the wyverns and their horrible screeched were no longer present, Shizuka transformed. Link, Lira, and Sharai climbed quickly up onto his back and they took to the skies as well, sailing over the mountains and back towards the dragon's lands.

Lira glanced back towards the temple. She placed a hand over her heart and closed her eyes. "Please be safe, Firagaht...." she whispered.

-------------------------

Sword and scythe clashed and grunts of exertion sounded throughout the dilapidated temple as a climactic battle between former friends raged on. Firagaht, seeing an opening, lunged to stab through Velnar's heart, quick as lightning. Though apparently it wasn't quick enough, as Velnar's eyes flashed a deep, glowing crimson and Firagaht was blown away by a powerful energy blast originating from the wyvern-turned-dragon's hand.

The dragon leader landed hard on his back on the ground with a resounding thud, but got slowly to his feet. He was breathing heavily and had cuts and bruises all over his body. He had a deep laceration in his leg that bled dark red blood profusely and stained his entire pant leg scarlet.

The cut had been made earlier on in the fight, and would've healed by then if Firagaht hadn't continuously ripped open the wound anew whenever he moved swiftly in the heat of the battle. The raven-haired man looked like the blood loss was finally taking its toll on him as the dragon leader struggled to stay on his feet, leaning heavily upon his scythe.

Velnar smirked, taking note of the dragon man's condition, while looking like he hadn't broken a sweat. Unlike Firagaht, Velnar wasn't sweating or bleeding, since every cut the dragon leader managed to make had healed almost before he could finish the slash. His clothes weren't in tatters, but his sword was covered in dragon blood.

While watching the dragon man to make sure he was looking, Velnar brought the sword to his lips and ran his tongue along its surface, lapping up the crimson life fluid that dripped from it. Firagaht's eyes widened in disgust and he attempted to stand on his own. He held his blue-bladed sickle pointed blade first at Velnar.

"You are a sick fool, Velnar!" Firagaht grounded out through bruised lungs that were probably punctured from his cracked ribs. Velnar chuckled snidely. "Maybe so, but I will have Lira cure me with her soft and loving hands," he replied suggestively. Firagaht growled, his entire body trembling with rage, and he lunged at Velnar, ready to cleave him in two.

There was a blinding light that surrounded them both when they were within a foot of each other and faded away almost as quickly as it had appeared. Firagaht landed behind Velnar on one knee, his scythe, to even his own surprise, was covered in blood. He stood and turned quickly around with his weapon ready, although it looked like he wouldn't need to use it.

Velnar still stood with his back to his opponent, frozen in the position he had been in before the bright flash of light. Suddenly, without warning, a spray of blood shot out from the laceration that had been made through his midsection. The thick fluid flooded the area around his feet and he fell down to one knee, clutching the wound.

"What's....what's happening....to....me?!" he gurgled, choking and sputtering. Firagaht watched in abhorrence as his body began to sizzle and steam as his flesh began to open and bleed in all the areas Firagaht had slashed previously. The demented wyvern's skin turned pale as a result of the major blood loss.

Velnar reached a weak and withered hand up toward Firagaht. The dragon in response took a cautious step back. "P-please...! Firagaht....! Help me!" he choked out pleadingly. Firagaht steeled his face into an emotionless mask. "You brought this upon yourself. For your foolish actions, this is your reward: _death_," the dragon replied, lowering his sickle slightly.

Velnar took in several deep breaths. "Please! At least end my suffering! No one truly deserves such a painful death as this! My...my body is burning! Please!" Firagaht's mask faltered as he watched his former best friend being tortured right before his eyes. He tightened his grip on his weapon, his knuckles nearly turning white. He was torn between wanting to let him suffer and being the friend that he once was and ending his pain.

When he looked into Velnar's eyes, he saw the pain and anguish. In his eyes, Firagaht could see his genuine sorrow over all the actions he had chosen, and his need for forgiveness.

Squeezing his eyes shut, the dragon lashed out with his scythe and delivered the final blow to his heart. Velnar was dead in an instant. Firagaht sighed, staring down at the wyvern-turned-dragon's lifeless body. He glanced around the rest of the room, at all the corpses of the priests and wyvern guards and shook his head.

Too tired to stand any longer, Firagaht dropped to his knees and took in several deep inhales and exhaled through his mouth. He bowed his head. He was _so_ exhausted. He wanted to just lay down on his warm bed and sleep.

The wounded and weary dragon smiled to himself. In only a few days he would be wed to Lira. Now that Velnar and his foolish wishes were out of the way, there would be no interruptions. Lira would be his.

Lira....

How he suddenly longed to see her face right then and feel her warm body against his own. The dragon was sure she would bear healthy and strong pups. He was sure she'd be a loving and nurturing mother as well.

Firagaht was jerked out of the most pleasant thoughts he had had in years and looked up at the corpse of his old friend. A bright white orb was hovering over Velnar's body, looking much like from earlier when the newly-freed demon had granted the wyvern's wish.

The dragon leader narrowed his eyes darkly. Did this mean it wasn't over? As if to answer his question, the orb, with a blinding flash of light, formed into the ominous silver-haired demon.

Firagaht quickly got to his feet, readying his sickle. The demon opened his eyes and fixed his stare upon him. "Why are you still alive?!" Firagaht growled, "You should've died when I killed Velnar!" The demon smirked. "You are correct. If I _had_ been still in connection with him when he died I would've perished too," he began.

He took a step forward and Firagaht gritted his teeth. "But, I severed the connection with him before you killed him," he finished softly. A quick flashback of when the light had surrounded the dragon and wyvern during their battle and the dragon leader's attacks finally damaging the wyvern, flashed through Firagaht's mind. He growled.

"You were just using him," he realized. The demon grinned, showing off his pristine white teeth. "He was useful, for some time. I was able to regain a bit more of my power back while dwelling within his soul."

Firagaht scoffed. "Then why didn't you just stay in his body until you had regained it all?" The demon, still smirking, tilted his head to the side. "I thought you'd realize that on your own." Firagaht bared his teeth and tightened his grip on his scythe, tired of talking.

"I was using more energy than I cared to preventing that fool from being hacked to pieces while feeding off of his life force to regain my lost power. He was so convinced he was invincible that he didn't bother to avoid any of your attacks." He rolled his crimson eyes. "He was wasting my time, so I let him die."

Firagaht pointed his scythe at the pitiless demon. "So what do you plan to do now? Take _my_ body?" The sliver-haired demon chuckled. "You're too weak right now. I would be wasting my time with you as well."

He tapped a finger to his chin, feigning deep thought. After a few seconds, he snapped his fingers, his face forming into a large malicious grin. "I know! I'll take _Lira's_ body!"

"Like hell you will!!"

The demon threw back his head and laughed maniacally. "Like you can stop me!" He lifted his hand and pointed at the injured dragon with his pinky finger. The claw on his finger shot out and punctured his jugular vein, making a needle-sized perforation and injected a sedative into his blood stream. Firagaht's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground on his back after the demon's needle claw retracted to his finger.

The ominous demon stepped past the subdued clan leader and outside into the cool night. The gentle wind swept his long silver tresses about. He looked up into the sky, seeing the myriad of twinkling stars in the navy blue sky.

"You can run all you want Lira. You will be my vessel all the same."

-------------------------

Oh no! Looks like the nameless demon is going after Lira! _Why_, you ask? Well that'll be revealed in the next chappie along with this demon's name! Lol, it was kinda annoying saying "the demon" over and over again so I'm givin' him a name!

Hopefully the next chapter will come out by the end of this month, maybe sooner. I'm lazy and I have a bunch of stuff due in school this month. Anyways, I plan to have two chapters, three at the most, left. Though I doubt there'll be three.

-LunaRyuu


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Me no own Zelda.

A/N: Finally I got a new computer! And boy is it fast! This is like a dream come true! Though my mother's saying that she's gonna take this one and my brother and I'll have to use the old one, but I'm hoping that either happens in the late future or never. I'll be damned if I have to go back to the old one. Anyway, sorry about the long wait, but now I'll finally be able to get back on track with my updates. Now the only things that'll prevent me from updating are writer's block and time consuming activities. Anyway, here's the chapter.

Chapter 15

"Lira?" The Hylian's voice cut through her thoughts and she snapped back to attention. She blushed slightly, noticing the look of concern on Link's face and inferring from it that he had been calling her name for awhile. "Is everything alright?" he asked gently, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled half-heartedly and nodded. "Yes. Please don't worry, I am fine. I was just…thinking about Firagaht and hoping he is alright," she replied. Link nodded, looking somewhat disappointed, but tried not to let it show.

"Don't worry about him. He's strong and can take care of himself. He'll be fine," he reassured, feeling strange about defending Firagaht.

Lira stared down into her lap with a sad smile. "Thank you," she whispered. Sharai shifted in her sleep, leaning against Link's back with her left shoulder resting on the Hero's back, facing Lira. Link readjusted the blanket that covered her.

Link was looking rather sleepy himself, fighting to keep his eyelids open and his head up straight. The night was near its end and the sky was beginning to light up. The stars' twinkling lights were starting to dim as the first sunrays were emerging from the horizon.

Shizuka soared swiftly and gracefully through the air, drawing them closer and closer to the dragon village. Lira sighed and glanced over at link and the young wyvern, smiling when she saw Link fast asleep. She hoped Firagaht had defeated Velnar and the demon.

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Kairi sighed, walking past the multitude of dead bodies with nonchalance. He headed towards the temple to check on Firagaht, whistling all the while. The silver-haired dragon stepped over a wyvern's body that had been strewn horizontally across the steps and pushed the heavy double doors open.

The stench of blood and death was thick within the large structure, and Kairi wrinkled his nose in disgust as he was hit with the full force of the smell immediately upon stepping inside.

The doors to the inner chamber where the seal on the demon had been housed had been blasted open and were in pieces on the floor. As he approached the devastated room, Kairi took in a deep breath and nearly choked on what he smelled.

"That smell…! That's Firagaht's…!" he muttered out loud, dashing forward.

Within the large back room, Kairi shoved a particularly large ceiling block that had crashed to the floor out of his path and quickly searched the room with his eyes. He spotted Firagaht lying crumpled on the floor not too far away.

The blue-eyed dragon rushed to his leader's side and pulled his upper torso up from the ground, shaking him gently. "Firagaht-sama! Firagaht-sama!"

Golden eyes fluttered open and slowly focused until the blurry image of Kairi became clear. Kairi smirked as the normally composed Firagaht groaned while sitting up on his own and rubbed his head. He let out a low hiss when he tried to stand and clutched his leg painfully.

"Heh. You're beat up pretty badly. So, did ya win?" Firagaht's piercing glare made Kairi cringe slightly. "Why are you here and not with Lira?" Firagaht demanded sharply. Kairi blinked at the suddenness of this question, and then scratched the back of his head, grinning.

"Well, the kid thought of this amazing idea to get the wyvern's off of Lira's back…and well, it consisted of us splitting up…" Noting the look of rage on Firagaht's face, the silver-haired dragon quickly added, "But Shizuka's still with her!"

"Shizuka is not enough to protect her, you idiot!" the dragon leader snapped. Kairi stared blankly at him. "Huh? Why not?" Firagaht sighed.

"Velnar is dead but the demon is not," he growled in reply. Kairi raised his eyebrows, glancing nervously around. "How did that happen? Weren't they magically bound together?"

Firagaht closed his eyes, conserving his strength so his wounds would heal faster. "He broke the bind, obviously," the dragon leader answered.

Blue eyes suddenly widened as they spotted Velnar's tattered corpse covered in debris. "Whoa! You really did him in, didn't you, Firagaht-sama?" Kairi mused; wrinkling his nose as he suddenly could smell the drying wyvern blood. It seemed now that he was dead, the wish that had been granted to him by the great demon was no longer valid and Velnar returned to his original wyvern state.

"We must go now," Firagaht said suddenly, using his scythe like a cane to stand slowly to his feet. Kairi rose as well, reaching out to help him as he wobbled in place. Firagaht knocked his hands away with an impatient grunt.

"He is searching for Lira," the dark-haired dragon added. Kairi's eyes widened in surprise. "He wants to use her like he used Velnar to regain his lost powers."

Kairi clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms and nearly drawing blood. "If he dares lay a hand on her, I'll…!"

He was cut off abruptly when Firagaht suddenly spouted into a violent coughing fit. Blood dribbled down his chin and his whole body trembled. He would've collapsed to the floor, had Kairi not caught him.

"Whoa! You still need to recover from that beating you were so obviously given not too long ago!" Firagaht growled and pushed him away. "There's no time! That demon could already have gotten to Lira!" he protested fiercely.

Kairi rolled his eyes at his leader's stubbornness and reached into his pocket, pulling out a vial filled with a red liquid. "Here, drink this. I stole it off that Hylian kid. It'll heal your wounds right away," he said, offering it to the other dragon man.

Firagaht glared at him contemptuously for a good while before finally giving in and snatching the vial from his betrothed's cousin, drinking it down in a single gulp. After a while, he could already fell its healing components working on his bruised and battered body.

Just moments later, Firagaht was able to stand without the help of his scythe and he already felt the throbbing pains of all of his wounds become reduced to just a dull stinging sensation.

'Once again I am indebted to this boy for his strange magical items,' Firagaht thought, referring to Link. He closed his eyes briefly, before turning to his annoying companion.

"Let's go."

"No argument there!"

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Short huh? And it's not like it's really a cliffhanger cuz it isn't and don't you dare try to say it is! Please don't be mad. I just haven't been feeling it lately, with Breath of a Dragon anyway. Hopefully next chapter will come sooner and will be better and longer and stuff.

By the way, I hate Quick Edit. Just wanted to let all of you know that.

-LunaRyuu


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Me no own Zelda.

A/N: Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? So long that I kinda forgot the normal format of stuff for this site.

Chapter 16

Link's eyes flew open and he was suddenly very aware of a slight stinging sensation in his arm. Sharai's head was in his lap and she was currently fast asleep, so as not to disturb her, the young blond hero slowly and carefully turned his upper torso. He met crimson red eyes and blinked.

Lira was leaning forward from behind him and had been pinching his arm, presumably to awaken him from his slumber. She had a worried expression upon her face and Link immediately became concerned. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything alright, Lira? What's wrong?" he asked. Lira's ruby orbs darted from side to side nervously and she leaned in toward him. When she spoke, her voice was barely over a whisper. "Doesn't it seem quiet out here to you?" she asked softly.

Link glanced around. It was still very early in the morning; the sun hadn't fully risen yet, which led Link to believe he hadn't been asleep for very long. Other than the sound of Shizuka's enormous dragon wings slicing through the air, it was silent.

Link turned back to Lira. "It _is_ pretty quiet, but it's only early morning…." Link trailed off when Lira shook her head. "No! It should _never_ be this quiet!" Lira leaned towards him again and grasped the sleeve of his tunic. "Something's coming…!"

As soon as the dragon maiden finished her statement, Shizuka let out a thunderous howl, sounding remarkably like he was in pain, and faltered in his flight, forcing his companions to grab on to something to stay on. That something, for both girls (Sharai had woken with a start) happened to be Link. Link flattened himself to Shizuka's back while holding on to both girls tightly, with Lira on his left and Sharai on his right.

The wind rushed violently by them, as if Shizuka was picking up speed and the dragon let out another pained cry. Link was only vaguely aware of Sharai sobbing pitifully against his shoulder as the wind whipped voraciously about his head.

"What's going on?" Link hollered over the wind, voicing his question to the azure-haired dragon on his left. "I don't know!" Lira screamed back. The sudden sound of trees cracking made the trio suddenly aware that they were descending at a high velocity towards the ground. Shizuka's ebony belly was already grazing the treetops.

Link held on tighter to both girls. "Hold on tight! I think we're landing!" he hollered into the wind. The blonde hero squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the fall. With a thunderous crash, and the feeling like he had been punched in the gut, they were finally on the ground.

Lira peeked up from burying her face in Shizuka's massive back. "We're on the ground," she breathed softly. Sharai was crying softly and Lira was quick to comfort the trembling young wyvern girl. Link stood wobbly to his feet, his legs feeling like jello after the crash landing.

"I'm gonna check out the area and see if Shizuka is alright. You girls stay here. Scream if you need me, ok?" Link said, drawing his sword and readying his shield. Lira nodded, a determined look on her face as she held on tightly to Sharai. "Ok. Be careful, Link," she replied softly. Link nodded. "I will."

The young swordsman hopped off the prone body of the injured dragon and ran alongside his body to reach his head. Shizuka's large eyelids were closed, but Link could feel his hot steamy breath on his face and could hear his labored breathing. "Are you alright, Shizuka?" Link asked, cautiously stepping closer to his face.

One eye opened and slowly focused on Link and the immobilized dragon let out a soft pained rumble. Link, feeling immensely bad for Shizuka getting injured, patted him on the nose while looking up at the early morning sky. "I'm sorry, Shizuka. I feel like this is all my fault…" Link muttered quietly.

Of course Shizuka's sensitive ears picked it up. He flared his nostrils in indignation. Link took in a deep breath, but nearly choked on it seconds later when the temperature dropped drastically in the vicinity. The hero readied his sword and shield, preparing for the worst.

"Link!" Lira called, currently out of Link's sight range. Link held his breath. "Oh no…I'm coming Lira!" he hollered back, dashing up Shizuka's neck and to his back. Lira was there, Sharai as well, and they both looked fine. Link let out a breath of relief to see them ok.

He knelt down before them. "Everything alright?" he asked, even though the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Lira gave him a fearful look. "He's here."

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Not even bothering to transform into his winged-beast form, Firagaht dashed at lightning speed out of the temple grounds and through the forest, hoping to the goddesses above that the demon hadn't reached Lira and the others yet.

Kairi was barely able to keep with the dragon leader, and trailed nearly a hundred feet behind. It didn't matter much though, they would reach Lira and the others at about the same time. It didn't help though, that the silver haired twin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his belly.

"Augh!" he exclaimed, coming nearly to a stop, clutching his stomach in pain. Firagaht, though fully focused on the task at hand, still heard the cry and glanced briefly behind him. When he saw that his betrothed's cousin was not following anymore, he bared his teeth and growled, coming to a stop as well.

"What is the matter?" he snarled, none too sympathetically at his current traveling companion. Kairi frowned. "I'm in pain, but no damage has been inflicted upon me," he replied, staring at his chest area, where the shock of pain had originated. His eyes widened with sudden realization. Firagaht stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting impatiently.

"Shizuka's been hurt!" Firagaht raised an eyebrow. Kairi answered his unasked question. "We are twins, and sometimes when one of us is inflicted with pain the other will feel it. It tends to happen either when it is a nearly fatal wound or when the pain is significant somehow…"

"Stop your rambling," the elder dragon snapped. "So you are saying that your brother was hurt? Then let us not waste time discussing it and keep going!" Kairi pouted his lips. Despite being fiercely loyal to the dragon before him, it still made him greatly agitated when he was spoken down to like that. He grunted in reply, and the two of them continued their race to reach Lira.

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The coldest wind swept by creeping up Link's back and making every hair on his body stand on end. The young hero tried to prevent the tremble of both fear and reaction to the cold shoot through his body, but his efforts were in vain. He stared into Lira's eyes as their crimson depths widened to phenomenal proportions.

"Well, well, well now. What do we have here?"

Link started at the voice and immediately whirled around to face its owner. He gulped as he laid his eyes upon the previously sealed demon standing on the ground below them. Readying his sword and shield, Link tensed his body and lowered himself into a fighting stance.

"I've found you at last. Won't you come with me?" the demon said almost as if he were speaking to a child.

Link's eyebrow twitched. 'His personality is completely different from before!' he realized.

"Who are you talking to?" Link demanded.

The demon smirked, closing his eyes. "Why, Lira of course," he replied. Behind Link, Lira gasped audibly. "She is to be my new body." He reopened his eyes as he said this, favoring Link with a malicious stare.

Link took a surprised step back at this. "New…body?" he repeated, puzzled.

At this moment, Shizuka groaned and his eyelids fluttered open and closed. The demon's attention was briefly diverted, and Link used this to his advantage.

"Lira! Take Sharai and run!" Link hissed at the blue-haired dragon maiden. She blinked, breaking out of her fear-induced trance and grabbed hold of Sharai, leapt off of her cousin's back, and made her escape.

The demon, his attention returned to his chosen potential vessel, chuckled, thoroughly amused as he watched her dash off into the forest. The smile immediately faded when he lifted his hand up to block a sword strike from the young Hylian that had been meant to cleave him in two. Link clenched his teeth as he pushed with all his might against the demon's hand.

"Annoying bug!" the once-sealed monster growled, shoving the Gilded Sword away, tossing Link into the air. The hero flipped in the air and landed dexterously on his feet on the ground.

"I won't let you lay a single finger on Lira!" Link exclaimed, charging at his enemy. He thrust his sword forward with tremendous force and stabbed directly into the demon's heart, his sword forcing through to protrude from the creature's back. Blood splattered onto Link's hardened face. A feeling of triumph swept through him as he watched the creature's head droop forward.

Link smirked. "Some demon. You didn't even try to dodge my stab!" he taunted.

Link began to pull his blade out of the demon's torso when suddenly he was met with resistance. His eyes widened as he saw that the demon's hand was clamped tightly around the blade of the sword. Glowing red eyes met with Link's and the Hylian was immediately struck with fear.

The demon grinned broadly, showing off his fangs and disturbing chuckles racked his body. "Poor, simple _mortal_. You do not yet realize the situation you are in…" A strong hand clamped around Link's neck and crushed his windpipe, cutting off air circulation to his brain.

Link's blue eyes widened and he released his hold on his sword and gripped tightly but futilely upon the hand that would be the end for him if this continued on for much longer.

"Do you know who I am _mortal_?" he asked softly. Link grunted, gasping desperately for air. The creature's eyes widened giving him the appearance of a crazed murderer.

"I am Shamasu! Prince of the Underworld! All who defy me are fools!"

With this, Shamasu flung Link across the clearing and into one of the bordering trees. The blond Hylian slammed into the thick trunk of the tree, creating a large dent in the bark. His limp, but still barely conscious form sank to the ground.

Shamasu chuckled malevolently at the boy, who could now barely keep his eyes open. "How did that feel, eh? Did you enjoy the sound of your bones cracking as much as I did?"

He glanced down at the sword protruding from his chest as if he had just remembered it being there and grabbed hold of the hilt, pulling it slowly out of his flesh. The wound hole it had created quickly resealed itself once the blade was no longer embedded in it.

Shamasu grinned broadly at the sword, turning it over in his hands. "A golden sword…how fascinating," he mused to himself, giving it a practice swing. His scarlet red eyes held a dangerous glint in them as they alighted upon Link's crumpled form.

Dexterously flipping the sword up into the air and catching it with the blade facing down, the demon slowly advanced on the fallen hero. "Let's see how sharp it is against mortal flesh shall we?"

Link flinched and fisted a handful of dirt when he sensed Shamasu drawing near. His shadow fell over him and the fallen hero peered up at him helplessly through his messy blond bangs.

Shamasu gripped Link once more by the neck, lifted him up to eye level, and slammed him against the tree, smirking all the while. Link's head lolled to the side, for he was too injured to even protest. The demon prince brought the sword up over his head and brought it back down with extreme precision deep into Link's shoulder.

Link's eyes widened and he screamed as the white hot pain sent a shock through his brain. He bit down on his lip to cap off any further elicits of pain and squeezed his eyes shut. The evil prince then wrenched the sword out of the wound and released Link, allowing him to fall to the forest floor.

The demon smirked, tossing the bloodied blade to the side and closing his eyes. "Will you be as fun to play with…_dragon_?" he sneered, turning around to face a slightly battered and bruised, and in human form, Shizuka.

Silently, Shizuka drew his blade, narrowing his eyes darkly and fully focusing upon the demon. Shamasu smiled, cracking his fingers. "You look pretty strong…perhaps I shall have fun fighting you?"

The last thing Link heard was the sound of metal clashing with metal before he blacked out.

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I like cliffhangers. Don't you?

So like I wanted to end the chapter here cuz at this moment I don't know how the climactic ending battle is gonna end exactly and I wanted to post something up since this fic has been inactive for the past 999999 years. I hope you likey!

-LunaRyuu


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